Someone For Me
by KyleEvers
Summary: Kyou Fujibayashi never knew she would find her truly special someone is such a person. She also never knew the trials and joy she would experience. Takes place after the 'happy end' of the After Story. Rated T for future violence.
1. Prologue: Mysterious Act of Kindness

A/n: KyleEvers here, you may or may not know me from my previous story on this site, a Fire Emblem fanfic titled 'Corruption of Cornwell'. Well this time I am here writing a fan fic for a wonderful anime known as Clannad. Ever since I watched it it has become my favorite anime (this of course includes Clannad After Story). I will warn you now, if you have not watched all of the anime including After Story, there are some spoilers in here.

There are two things I wish to say before writing this. The first is the time. According to a screenshot taken from the visual novel of Clannad the story begins in 2003, thus the five year gap that occurs in After Story bringing it to 2008. This story will be operating under this assumption. ((It is important to note that this story takes place after the happy ending in After Story, not during After Story))

The second item of note is that obviously Clannad takes place in Japan(as it is stated in the anime/visual novel). I am not Japanese and never have been to Japan (sadly). I did some reading on etiqutte and culture of Japan but obviously I will make mistakes. Please overlook them or kindly point them out in a review.

Anyways, sorry for the rambling, on with the story.

Prologue: Mysterious Act of Kindness

_Plip plap plip plap_

The sound of the rain was apparently enough to disturb one's sleep, for the sound of it hitting against the window was enough to stir up a young woman's otherwise peaceful sleep. Groaning she tossed and turned slightly, her long light purple hair splayed out across the bed. Without opening her eyes she groaned to herself.

"Gah, will you shut up already rain?" she asked, annoyance quite clear in her still tired sounding voice. She folded her pillow over her ears in an attempt to block out the sound. It however was relentless, its almost rhythmic pattern not stopping for one second. Growling, the young woman, know as Kyou Fujibayashi, sat up, the blankets once covering her entire body sliding down to her lap. Eyes half closed, Kyou sleepily looked at her surroundings. Her gaze wandering, she happened to look at the alarm clock on the night stand that was close by where she regularly set out her futon. At first the time on it didn't register in her mind, though when it did it instantly woke her up.

Jumping up into a standing position from her futon, Kyou ran over to the closet, yanking clothes out with all due possible speed. In her rush she actually started to put the clothes over her pajamas. Noticing it, Kyou growled, both at her stupidity and the delay it caused to take the clothes off, then the pajamas, then putting the clothes on again.

"Gonna be late, gonna be late," she muttered angrily to herself. The alarm must have not gone off, cause Kyou was not a heavy sleeper like some others, once a loud noise or alarm went off she was up. It was convenient, blaming the alarm clock for sleeping hours past the time she normally got up. But in the end Kyou realized it didn't matter, if she didn't hurry she would be late to her job as a kindergarten teacher. As she ran to the door Kyou realized that technically she was already late, she was suppose to be there to greet the children and their parents as they came. Now she would be lucky if she made it before class started. Surely she would be scolded for this later...

Not having time to even make a lunch for later Kyou simply grabbed the bare essentials for her class, opening the door with great force. Looking out into the scenery caused Kyou to again curse her stupidity, seeing that it was raining. Of course it would be raining! Hadn't she herself told it to shut up just a few minutes ago? Grabbing a rain jacket that hung on the wall just by the entrance, the young woman quickly descended the nearby stairs to make it from her second floor apartment to ground level. Once there Kyou seemed to almost fly as she ran towards the small yard and adjacent driveway/parking lot that the apartment residents all shared.

Kyou would later growl a third time at herself for stupidity, she should have known better then to run on the slick pavement. So it was no surprise when she slipped, hitting the pavement hard as she fell, though her quick save with her hands prevented her face from meeting the hard ground. Uttering a few choice profanities, Kyou got up again, continuing her way towards her destination. She turned her head as she came closer to the scooter she owned, yelling out into the yard area.

"Come on Botan! We gotta go now!" she bellowed. Over the pouring torrent of the rain she heard a reply of 'Gof gof!'. Kyou could still remember years ago when her precious boar would make a cute 'puhii puhii' noise. Shaking her head Kyou reminded that now was not the time to reminisce. Now where her scooter was Kyou quickly made the necessary actions to start up her vehicle.

Nothing.

Kyou did the necessary actions again, hoping, almost praying, that it was just a fluke.

Again, nothing.

Kyou screamed out in frustration, kicking the scooter in anger. Why did it have to stop working today of all days! She desperately looked around for any hope, yet she saw nothing. Most of the other residents had already left for work, taking either the mass transit systems or their own vehicles. Kyou almost was ready to cry when she felt a gentle push on her back. Turning she saw that it was Botan that had done it.

"Gof gof!" the boar grunted, slightly raising her head. Having been together for years Kyou knew immediately what her friend was trying to say.

"You want me to ride on your back?" she questioned in amazement. "B-but only little kids are small enough to ride you. I know you are big but...I don't want to hurt you Botan."

"Gof gof!" she said again, the tone of her voice seeming to get more insistent. Sighing Kyou mulled it over briefly in her head. Botan was willing, and she couldn't think of anything else she could possibly do to get to her job on time.

"All right Botan." mumbled Kyou. "But don't push yourself too hard, okay?" Climbing onto her back Kyou grabbed tightly onto her friend, she taking off the moment she had climbed on. It was amazing to see her, a boar of that size running so fast even while carrying a fully grown woman. Kyou pulled the hood of her rain jacket down as far as she could to shield her face and yet still see where they were going. Ahead of them the kindergarten teacher saw a puddle or surprising size.

"Look out Botan! There's a huge puddle ah-" She stopped suddenly her warning, seeing that the boar either did not hear it or was simply ignoring it. Kyou barely had enough time to react by burying her face into Botan's fur and using her rain jacket to shield herself and the materials she had brought along. Just as she had done so Botan ran through the puddle of muddy water, spraying it everywhere. Unwilling to bring her gaze up again and risk a spray like that making contact with anything but her raincoat, Kyou kept her face buried in Botan's fur, trusting her to know the way to school.

Her trust was well placed, for without any direction from her owner Botan went straight to the school, no deviations from the path at all they normally took. Feeling that Botan had stopped Kyou looked up. As soon as she saw that she was at the school she jumped off of Botan, running for the entrance. She stopped though when Botan made a pitiful sounding 'gof'. Looking back at Botan she saw that the boar was standing out in the rain, tired-looking and quite dirty.

"I'm sorry Botan but I can't wash you right now." said Kyou, her regret clear. Botan tried to insist with another 'gof' but his owner shook her head. "I'm sorry Botan but I'm late already as it is. I'll wash you after school okay?" Giving yet another pitiful sound Botan trudge over to her shelter that rested by the playground. Kyou turned, going into the building just barely on time.

* * *

"Bye bye sensei!" called out a small child as he left, his hand held by his mother.

"Bye bye." replied Kyou, a smile plastered on her face. As soon as the child was out of the room and out of sight Kyou sat down on a nearby stool, placing her head in her hands. This day had been a long one. First she got chewed out by the person in charge, then she had to go through the day without a breakfast or lunch. The kids also seemed especially rowdy today as well. All in all, this day sucked. Frustration building, she felt a urge to throw a dictionary at something just as she had done in her high school days. She suddenly though felt a pair of small arms try to wrap themselves around her waist from behind. Lifting her head she twisted her body seeing that it was one of her students, Ushio Okazaki. She was about to say something when another voice spoke up. Looking up Kyou would see that in the doorway to the room was Ushio's mother, Nagisa, one who had gone to school with Kyou.

"I'm so sorry Kyou-chan." apologized Nagisa. "But Ushio said you looked like you needed a hug." Looking down at Ushio, Kyou saw that her big innocent-looking eyes were filled with concern. Smiling, Kyou placed her hand on top of the young girl's head affectionately.

"I did." sighed Kyou, a soft smile beginning to creep onto her face. "Thank you Ushio, you are such a good girl." Ushio gave a soft laugh of pleasure, knowing that she had done good. The purple haired teacher stood up, walking with Ushio back to her mother and when there, with both of them to the school entrance.

"So was it a hard day Kyou-chan?" asked Nagisa, her head and gazed turned towards her old high school friend as the three of them walked forwards. Sighing, Kyou Fujibayashi nodded.

"Somehow my alarm clock didn't go off, I didn't have time to get breakfast or prepare a lunch, I was barely on time, got yelled at by the director, Just...its been a long day." complained Kyou.

After digging through a handbag she carried Nagisa held out a object towards Kyou. "Take this then, its not good to go without eating." Looking done Fujibayashi saw that it was Anpan (sweet bean bread). Kyou was touched by the fact that Nagisa was giving up one of her favorite foods to her, but Kyou couldn't take it. She had to be strong in the face of hardship. Kyou softly shook her head, a smile creeping onto her face.

"I don't need it, thanks anyways Nagisa-chan." Mrs. Okazaki though didn't withdraw the offered snack. She kept it there, her face alone proclaiming her insistence. Kyou had to admit to herself she was a little surprised, rarely was Nagisa so forward or demanding of anything. Still though Kyou wanted to remain strong and independent. She gently pushed back the offered bread and the hand that was holding it. She started to refuse again but was interrupted by a loud growling noise. It took a moment for Kyou to realize that it had been her stomach that had made the interruption.

Blushing, Kyou stammered, "D-don't listen to it!" As she said this she pointed intensely at her stomach. Kyou was in that pose a moment before she gently slapped her own forehead in embarrassment. She was acting ridiculous!

Nagisa held out the Anpan again, her insisting aided this time by Ushio gently tugging on Kyou's sleeve. Sighing, Kyou gave in to her friend, her student, and her stomach, taking the offered food. Her hunger drove her to rip open the plastic package roughly, though her mind was emberrased by her actions. Breaking off a piece Kyou stuffed it into her mouth, grateful for the food. She stopped for her chewing for a moment when she heard coming from outside a 'gof gof' muffled by the school walls.

"Oh that's right, I promised Botan I'd wash her." suddenly remembered Kyou. Her pace quickening to a brisk walk, Kyou made her way to the entrance. Nagisa and Ushio were not far behind.

"You mean you haven't washed her yet?" asked Nagisa. Strangely there seemed to be a tone of confusion in Nagisa's voice. This caused Kyou to stop and turn around towards Nagisa.

"No I haven't, why do you ask?" inquired Kyou.

"W-well um...She's already clean." muttered Nagisa. Somewhat surprised by what Nagisa said, Kyou coughed, having started to choke on a piece of the Anpan. After she successfully cleared her throat Kyou peered into the outdoors, framed by the small window on the door. Just as her friend had said Botan was perfectly clean and perfectly dry, sitting under the overhang and sighing happily. At first Kyou was confused as to who had done it, then she had a good guess in her mind as she turned once again back to her friend.

"Thanks Nagisa." said Kyou, appreciative to her friend. That gratitude was cut short though by a soft shaking of the head on Nagisa's part.

"I'm glad you think so highly of me Kyou-chan that you think I had done it," began Nagisa. "But I didn't do it...She was clean when I got here." Now utterly confused Kyou looked back at the content Botan, wondering who had done the mysterious act of kindness.

* * *

A/n: Well I hope this has piqued your interest, whomever you are. As a side note I am currently looking for a Beta Reader to review my chapters before I publish them publicly. Mainly I'm looking for anyone who can spot my various grammar and spelling errors. It would be awesome though if the Beta reader has seen/read/played Clannad so they can help me keep the characters' personalities accurate. Thank you again for reading this far, I will post the next chapter as soon as possible, whenever that is.


	2. Chapter 1: The Foreigner

A/n: Well here is the first actual chapter. Sorry for taking the time in the posting of it but xx Sunshine Girl xx whom offered to be my beta reader for this story was being very thorough with the corrections. Her help was greatly improved this fan-made babbling of a story this is. Anyways a big thanks to her. Also another thanks to bloodstoneDenise for the positive review. Thank you so much!

One more thing before I start with the story. I have decided to use name-suffixes such as -san and -chan despite the story being written in english. Sorry if you people don't like such but its a personal decision.

Anyways I hope you will continue to read and enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it. On with the story!

Chapter 1: The Foreigner

The room was rather quiet, only the soft clacking of chalk being written on the blackboard echoed throughout the room. Occasionally the twitter of birds would be heard, though it was so quiet that one could easily miss the noise. Eventually the only major source of noise, the chalk, stopped. It was placed down by the blackboard as the kindergarten teacher sat down on a nearby stool, giving off a yawn. Kyou sighed, resting her head in her hand, the arm of which was propped up on her leg. Though it was rather unpleasant to do so, Kyou had set her alarm clock earlier and had also been double-checking it every night before she went to sleep. It was tiring but Kyou did not want to take any risk at all of repeating that one nasty day. Her tardiness and the resulting scolding for it was barely balanced out by Ushio and Nagisa's kindness, in addition to the mysterious act of kindness that was done for her by washing Botan.

Brows furrowing the moment she thought of that mystery, Kyou went into deep thought as she waited for her students to come to class. No matter how hard she thought she had not a single clue as to who was responsible for that enormous favor. When it had happened she was sure that Nagisa was the culprit. Yet, she denied doing it and Kyou knew that Nagisa was rather terrible at lying. It couldn't have been any of her students because she had was with them the entire time.

Kyou stood up, growling as she paced like a tiger. She didn't know why this simple thing bugged her so much. Something about not knowing who it was . . . somehow it just made her go insane. While Kyou herself could sometimes be curious, this went beyond the norm. She began to regret coming in extra early, there wasn't anything she could do to pass the time. Well, nothing but think that is, and as soon as she began to think her mind would immediately hone in on that mysterious act of kindness. Attempting to distract herself, the young woman walked over to one of the windows that granted a view of the outside.

Kyou gazed out and saw that the skies were overcast, their shades of gray causing the normally jovial nature of the sunshine to be somewhat gloomy. Kyou sighed; the gloom seemed to spread to her own emotions. Looking away from the depressing sight the young woman looked towards the ground instead. There, she saw one thing she expected to see, that being her pet Botan. Though, what she didn't expect to see was someone standing by Botan, gently stroking her fur. Taking this opportunity of distraction, Kyou walked briskly out of the classroom. Once outside she continued her brisk pace towards Botan and the random stranger.

Before, she hadn't been able to get a good look as to who this person was, since she was mainly concentrating on getting outside and seeing what was going on. Now though, as she walked towards the pair with gaze fixated upon her target, she was able to make some detailed observations. The person had his back to her, so a view of the face was impossible. She could tell this person was definitely male, though. His hair was cut short, its color reminding her of warm chocolate. Since the hair was short, it allowed Kyou to somewhat see his skin. It was rather light, leading the young woman to believe that he was a pale individual. The other thing she noted about him was that he was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit that hinted at a job of labor. It was not something one would wear for a simple desk job.

When she was but a few yards away, Kyou stopped and uttered a simple, "Hey." While it could have been said in a kinder tone it also could have been said in a harsher one as well. This person was interacting with her precious pet without permission. Though the thing that saved him from a roughly thrown dictionary to the head was that he seemed to be acting kindly towards Botan, nor did the boar seem to be afraid of the stranger.

Turning as he stood from his squatting position, the man looked directly at Kyou. Now face to face, Kyou could tell even more about him. The main thing that caught her attention was that he was not just pale, he simply wasn't Japanese. Judging from the light color of his skin Kyou guessed that he originated from a Western country. This realization staggered her mentally somewhat, as she had never talked directly to a foreigner before. Kyou was not one to give in to fear of such a thing though, which allowed her to recover from that brief moment of surprise. As the surprise of his nationality wore off Kyou began to notice more things. This person was actually not that remarkable; in fact his face was lightly cursed with acne, bearing thick eyebrows and such, was rather forgettable. Were he Japanese and she passed him on the street she wouldn't have given him a second thought.

"Ah, hello," said the stranger. "I apologize for any disturbance I may have caused," he bowed respectfully to her. Again Kyou was surprised, this time not by sight, but by sound. The man, whom she was dead sure was a foreigner, spoke fluent Japanese. This was another surprise though this one a welcome one for Kyou since she was not very confident in her English language abilities.

"N-no its alright." stammered Kyou, still recovering from all the surprises. "Who are you, though?"

"My name is Kale, Saunders being my family name," he smiled though he seemed to be slightly nervous. "I work here as a janitor."

"Really?" mumbled Kyou. Thinking back she realized that she had never actually seen the janitor for the preschool. Maybe what he said was true? Kyou couldn't be certain just from his words alone.

"Can I see some I.D. then?" Kyou knew that the question sounded sharp but she valued the safety of her students over being polite.

Thankfully Kale did not seem offended. He gave a compliant, "Sure." He took off the white glove covering his right hand and stuck his hand down in his pocket. Pulling his hand back out, he held a small rectangular piece of plastic. Kale handed it to Kyou. Eying it carefully she saw it was an employee I.D. and that it did indeed confirm Kale's claim. Kyou handed the card back, an apology hovering on the tip of her tongue, yet her pride held the words back.

"Had to make sure you were who you said you were," grumbled Kyou. In a way her explanation served as the apology for her acting suspicious. Kale shook his head though; no animosity seemed to come from him.

"It's perfectly alright." he said. "One has to be careful nowadays."

Kyou grew quiet for a moment, yet again surprised. Most people she confronted the way she did would grow angry and upset at questions that could be construed as doubting of honesty. But Kale showed no anger at all.

Finally Kyou regained her composure, attempting to make small talk to be polite. "So did you start work here recently, then?" she inquired. "I don't remember seeing you before now."

"Well . . . actually I've been working here for a few months now," informed Kale. "I'm pretty quiet and forgettable," he chuckled sheepishly. Botan snorted, bumping Kale's back just enough to get his attention. He looked at Botan and smiled, then began petting and scratching her again.

Kyou smiled; she was almost always happy when Botan was. "It seems Botan here likes you."

"Ah, so that's your name is it?" softly said Kale, looking at Botan with a loving gaze. Giving a few more scratches behind her ears, the boar gave a sound that was very similar to a happy sigh. Kale averted his gaze away from Botan and turned it to Kyou. "Well that makes me happy," he said.

"You like animals, huh?" asked Kyou.

"Aye," replied Kale. "There's something about them that seems so . . . I dunno, special I guess. Animals can make you feel love and happiness even when you're depressed. For some reason, something about them makes me want to care for them and for others." The boar's presence seemed to draw Kale's attention to it like a magnet, for the janitor looked yet again at Botan, his gaze full of love. The sight made it so that Kyou couldn't help but smile. Seeing someone with such gentleness to something so precious to her made her very happy. It was also nice for someone to meet Botan and not joke about eating her.

Suddenly an idea began to form in her mind. At first it sounded silly to her, but the more Kyou thought on it the more it made sense. It grew to the point that the kindergarten teacher was sure it was the truth.

"It was you, wasn't it?" she suddenly exclaimed, pointing her finger accusingly at Kale.

"M-me?" stammered Kale, nervous and surprised at her outburst. "What did I do?"

"You were the one that washed Botan a few days ago weren't you?" questioned Kyou loudly. While most people would be more conscious of the volume of their voice, Kyou was not. For one reason, she was in a way excited to finally figure out that mystery. Another reason was that . . . well, Kyou was Kyou.

"Well . . . um . . . yeah I was," admitted Kale. Before he continued on he bowed apologetically and remained in that position. "I apologize if that was a bother but I just simply couldn't leave Botan in such a state." The young man fully expected to receive either a physical or verbal assault. If one were able to see his face they would see it cringing in fear of what was to come.

But today seemed to be one full of surprises; not just for Kyou but for Kale as well. What he received instead of anger and dismay, was happiness and gratefulness. Laughing loudly, Kyou slapped him on the shoulder with nearly as much intensity as her laughter. The young man staggered some but did not fall over. He stood up straight from his bowed position, his face full of surprise.

"A bother?" laughed Kyou. "It wasn't a bother at all. In fact it was quite helpful." These words were effective in calming Kale, who began to smile again since his fears were chased away.

"Ah, I'm glad . . ." he sighed.

"Let me treat you in return for your kindness," offered Kyou. It sounded like more of an announcement then a request. "How about I treat you to lunch today?"

"Oh, there's no need to do that!" Kale said quickly. "It was my pleasure to take care of Botan." Laughing nervously, Kale noted that Kyou was giving him a strong glare; one that seemed to scream, _Just shut up and take the offer._ In one last feeble attempt to deny her offer Kale pointed out something. "I don't even know your name, though."

Though she felt stupid about not introducing herself earlier, Kyou was quick with her reply. "It's Fujibayashi Kyou, Fujibayashi being my surname," she said. Normally she didn't think it necessary to specify which one was her surname, but with him being a foreigner Kyou wanted to make sure.

Though she had given her name Kyou's glare persisted. Eventually Kale's denial crumbled, he finally sighed, "Alright, if you insist."

"Good," said Kyou, her deadly and insistent aura dissipating instantly, replaced by her smile. "Meet me here for lunch then, alright?"

"That's fine with me," Kale sighed in defeat.

"Don't forget!"

"I won't."

* * *

Kyou sighed disappointingly as she let her chin rest in the palm of her hand. She was staring outside the window as her class ate lunch and played in the classroom. Unfortunately for Kyou the gray clouds from earlier never dispersed, instead they had begun to pour forth their rain. The rain battered relentlessly against the window, the sound almost drowned out by the children in the room. Most of them went about their business, though a small number, including Ushio, would occasionally glance at their teacher. They were worried about her depressed mood.

The sudden rattle of the door being slid open drew a few of the kids' attention along with Kyou's. Standing in the doorway was Kale, a small covered bowl in his hands. He bowed slightly saying, "Sorry for the intrusion." Most of the kids didn't give Kale a second glance. A few, mainly the curious ones, continued to stare at Kale. One of them even spoke up.

"Hey, it's San-san!" the child exclaimed happily.

"San-san?" inquired Kyou, curious as to how this name was given to Kale.

"Yeah, San-san!" the child repeated simply, acting as if it were common knowledge. Sighing, Kyou eventually looked to Kale for an explanation.

"Well one time after class had already started, I was cleaning the halls, when this little guy came running in. He was late and had muddy shoes," Kale smiled at the memory. "His shoes made a big mess and then he started crying, afraid I'd be angry with him. Well, I wasn't and cleaned up the mud for him. Apparently, he also forgot his lunch that day so I gave him mine. He called me Saunders-san, but well . . . eventually it devolved into San-san."

"Ah...I see," said Kyou, finally understanding. Getting off from her stool, Kyou pulled out a sheet that she then spread out on the ground. Sitting down on it, Kyou patted a spot next to her. "Come and sit down, Saunders."

Kale complied, walking over and sitting down next to Kyou. She glanced at the bowl he had, and then gave him a hard glare. Seeing this the janitor quickly spoke up, "I had already brought my lunch here before you had offered," he explained nervously. "I figured I could share some of it with you. An exchange, if you will." Kale's words were like water poured onto a fire as it doused Kyou's glare.

Kyou smiled as she brought out her homemade lunch and opened the lid. Before Kyou could think of how to best serve the food to him, Kale procured his own chopsticks. He offered his bowl to her and Kyou took it, opening the lid. It smelled delicious. It hinted at being some kind of soup.

"Smells quite good," complimented Kyou.

"Thanks," smiled Kale. Taking out a small spoon out of a bag he had also been carrying the young man handed it over to Kyou. She took it with a simple, "Thanks," and dipped it into the stew. Putting the food into her mouth Kyou was somewhat surprised at how good it was.

"Tastes good too!" exclaimed Kyou.

"Ha ha . . . thank you very much," Kale rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I have to admit though, I've never been that confident in my cooking."

Kyou's eyes widened in surprise, "You mean you made this?"

The only response from Kale was another nervous laugh.

Kyou looked between Kale and the stew repeatedly. "I must say I'm amazed. Most guys I know can't even cook half as well as this."

"Now you're just flattering me," said Kale.

To this Kyou shook her head. "No, seriously, this is really good," she insisted. Kale gave her an unsure glance, but he seemed to accept it for the time being. He used his chopsticks to take some of the food Kyou had offered him. Popping it into his mouth, it was now Kale's turn to be blessed by good tasting food.

"Well I can say it to you too, this food is really good," he said.

"Well of course it is," Kyou grinned. "Thanks anyways, though." The two ate for a few moments in silence, enjoying the taste the food gave unto them. But, they were interrupted when Ushio approached them.

"Um . . . . Sensei?" mumbled Ushio, gazing up at Kyou.

"What is it Ushio-chan?" kindly asked Kyou, putting the food she was eating down for the moment.

"Is um . . ." Ushio put her finger to her lips nervously; she seemed to be reluctant in asking her question. "Is San-san your boyfriend?"

As soon as the question was uttered both Kale and Kyou blushed furiously. Kyou frantically waved her arms and head. "N-no of course he isn't!"

Ushio's face was twisted into confusion as she looked from her teacher to Kale. She finally settled her gaze on the janitor until he spoke up. "It's true . . ." he said quickly, his voice wavering slightly and his face still red.

Having heard so from both sources, Ushio was satisfied enough that she turned away and went back to playing with the other children.

Looking at each other, Kyou and Kale laughed nervously before quickly averting their gaze and continuing to eat, traces of their blushes still present. It was funny how one innocent question from a curious child could be so embarrassing.

"Well it's about time I got back to work," said Kale as he stood up. Kyou stood up along with him, she being done with her lunch and needing to get back to work as well.

"That was quite fun, we should do it again sometime," said Kyou, smiling happily. She was, in a way, like her old friend Tomoya Okazaki. When she said something she meant it, and her words were sometimes rather blunt, though in this case her blunt honesty was pleasant to hear.

"Indeed we should," agreed Kale with a smile. "Shall I bring another Western dish for you to sample then?"

"Sure, I do enjoy good food," said Kyou. "So you are from the West, then?"

"Yep, I was originally born in the United States," informed Kale.

"Really? How come you moved here to Japan?" Kyou couldn't help but ask.

"Well I-" Kale began, but was interrupted by the chiming of an electronic bell that signaled that lunch was over and classes were about to begin. "I guess I'll have to tell you tomorrow. See you."

"See you tomorrow," returned Kyou, waving to Kale as he left the room. When the door closed Kyou sighed happily, looking outside the window. The rain had stopped and the clouds had begun to disperse, rays of bright joyful sunshine were beginning to break through the cloud covering. Kyou couldn't help but smile happily; she greatly looked forward to tomorrow.

a/n: Well I hope that you have enjoyed the chapter. The next update shouldn't be too far away so look forward to it! Reviews of course of any nature, besides flames, are very much appreciated. Thank you so much for taking the time to read the story thus far.

Until next time!


	3. Chapter 2: Utterly Confused

a/n: Just a quick note, I forgot to account for the years before Ushio's birth, so instead of a 5 year gap from 2003 to 2008, I will be operating under the assumption of the gap being about 8 years, 1 year for Tomoya and Nagisa when they were in school together, one year when Nagisa was in school by herself, another year approx for when they were married and Nagisa soon pregnant with Ushio, then the 5 year skip that occurs in After Story. This makes the date currently in the year 2011. Don't know if it will ever be important, just making sure of things. XP Anyways, enjoy.

Chapter 2: Utterly Confused

"So . . . Ushio tells me you have a boyfriend, Kyou-chan," suddenly said Nagisa. Kyou nearly tripped and fell flat on her face at Nagisa's words. She barely regained her balance enough to look back up at Nagisa as they walked down the street.

Nagisa had been the one who proposed they walk together to the kindergarten school, she saying the reason being was to "maintain a healthy friendship". Though, Kyou saw now that it was Nagisa's way of creating an opportunity to question her.

Kyou felt like growling and screaming but restrained herself from doing so, wanting to maintain a good image in front of her students, Ushio included who was riding in between them on Botan's back. "No . . . I don't have a boyfriend . . ." she growled, frustration poisoning her voice despite her best efforts to remain within control of her emotions. Her hands tightened into fists at her side.

Nagisa was taken aback by this news, too flustered to utter an apology. The two walked on in silence for a few minutes until Nagisa finally found her voice. "Who um . . . who is San-san, then?"

Kyou sighed, guessing that despite her denying it, Ushio's earlier guess of Kale being her boyfriend was relayed to Nagisa. _Kids_ . . . most of the time Kyou loved them dearly, but it was at times like these when she really disliked them.

"Well his actual name is Saunders, Kale Saunders. He's our janitor at the school," informed Kyou, hoping to dispel any rumors that surrounded her. "Apparently, he was the one that washed Botan that day."

"Oh I see!" happily exclaimed Nagisa. "So he did it because he likes you," she grinned at Kyou, thinking she had it all figured out.

Kyou nearly face faulted when she heard those words, growing even more frustrated. "No, that's not the reason why!" The exclamation surprised Nagisa and Ushio, but not Botan, she being more than used to her master's outbursts. "He said it was because he really likes animals and that he hated seeing Botan so dirty." Nagisa nodded, accepting of her explanation. "Then to thank him for washing Botan I offered to treat him to lunch," Kyou continued on, "He had already brought his own lunch so we traded. That was all, a simple lunch, nothing more."

"Didn't you and San-san say you were going to have lunch together again today, though?" quietly asked Ushio.

Kyou sighed in a frustrated manner, if only Ushio would remember little details like that from class lessons. "Just because a guy and a girl are nice to each other doesn't always mean they are boyfriend and girlfriend," explained Kyou to Ushio.

The child merely gave her a confused look. Sighing, Kyou tried to think of another way to explain to her. "Hmm . . . let's see . . . alright, how about this," she mumbled, first to herself, then speaking properly to Ushio, "There are boys in your class, isn't there?"

Ushio nodded.

"And you're nice to them, right?" asked Kyou.

Again the response was a simple nod.

"You aren't any of their girlfriends are you?"

Ushio shook her head this time, with a look of what appeared to be disgust on her face, as if she was repulsed by the idea.

"You see what I'm trying to say now?"

Ushio looked upwards as she thought for a moment, and then looked back at her teacher as she nodded her head.

The kindergarten teacher sighed happily. With the one who had started that misconception now well-informed of the truth maybe the rumor would go away.

For a few minutes they all continued on in silence, merely enjoying the ambient noise and the familiar scenery. Even Botan, who was walking in between Kyou and Nagisa, didn't make many of her usual grunts and noises.

Ushio would occasionally bury her face in Botan's dark brown fur, enjoying the feel of the soft hairs on her face. She never failed to sit back up with a giggle, which in turn made Nagisa smile and even coaxed a grin or two from Kyou. It remained as such for a few minutes until Ushio unexpectedly tugged on one of Kyou's sleeves.

"What is it Ushio-chan?" asked Kyou, looking down at the child as she stopped walking. Ushio lifted one of her small hands, pointer finger extended at something ahead of them. "Isn't that San-San?" asked Ushio.

Kyou's eyes followed where the child was pointing, and saw the person was indeed Kale Saunders. He was a fair distance down the street, exiting out of an apartment door on the ground floor and then locking it. Looking up, Kale noticed a middle-aged woman watering some plants just outside one of the apartments close by. He turned to this woman and began conversing with her. Normally, their conversation would have been extremely difficult to hear from this distance, however the gentle breeze blowing their way carried the sound just enough so Kyou could hear.

"Good morning Nakamura-san," humbly greeted Kale as he bowed slightly. Surprisingly the woman didn't react to him at all, not even a slight glance in his direction. Kyou was confused, was the woman deaf? She didn't seem old enough to be losing her hearing.

"Nice weather we are having, isn't it?" said Kale, trying again to make conversation. Yet again the young man was met with silence, almost as if he were not even there. It was hard to tell from such a far distance but Kyou was sure that she saw Kale's shoulders slump in defeat.

"Well . . . farewell Nakamura-san," said Kale, walking down the street away from Kyou and her companions.

Kyou stood there, confused as to why someone would ignore such a kind person as Kale. Nagisa, Ushio, and Botan waited too, looking to Kyou in silence.

Suddenly the purple-haired woman stormed forward, feet pounding on the pavement.

"K-Kyou wait!" weakly protested Nagisa. Though she had not said anything to her Nagisa had enough experience with Kyou to predict what she was about to do.

Nagisa hated conflict and really didn't want Kyou to start anything, be it verbal or physical. However her words fell on deaf ears.

Kyou quickly closed the large distance between her and the middle-aged woman. "Hey you," said Kyou. Her tone of voice surprised even Kyou; she didn't realize just how upset she was by the rudeness of this woman.

Nakamura-san immediately turned her head looking straight at Kyou. "Oh, well good morning," she greeted sweetly. This surprised Kyou; she had expected the woman to be mean or secluded, which in her mind was the only other explanation then being deaf, which she obviously wasn't.

"May I ask you a question?" asked Kyou, her voice still tense.

Nakamura seemed to pick up on it, but her mood did not change to a defensive or angered one. Instead she maintained her sweetness. "By all means, miss . . .?" She let the sentence carry, indicating an inquiry to Kyou's name.

"Fujibayashi, Kyou Fujibayashi," she said quickly. "I wanted to ask you, why were you so rude to that young man?" she asked, cutting to the chase.

"Excuse me?" Nakamura frowned. Her sweetness suddenly seemed to disappear, being replaced by something that was unidentifiable for now.

"That young man who just tried to talk to you," Kyou huffed, pointing down the street at the receding form of Kale. She wasn't sure if Nakamura would be able to tell from this distance what the speck was she was pointing at, but Kyou couldn't help herself. For some reason she felt extremely frustrated. "He greeted you and everything and you didn't even give look at him."

Nakamura's eyes narrowed, her lips pursed as she glared at Kyou menacingly. "I do not wish to associate myself with such a . . . a . . . _thing_ as that," spat Nakamura. The intense venom in her voice shocked Kyou, erasing any retorts the young woman may have thought of.

"Good day," growled Nakamura curtly. Turning to her apartment door, she opened it and then slammed it shut as she disappeared inside, the audible click of the lock resounding in the quiet air.

Kyou stood there for a moment, shock preventing her from taking any action. She finally snapped out of it when she heard a "Gof! Gof!" Looking to her side Kyou saw that Nagisa, Ushio, and Botan had joined her, looking to her with worried eyes. Kyou softly shook her head as she began again walking to the school.

"I don't get it . . ." mumbled Kyou. Though she had been speaking to herself, Nagisa responded.

"About the woman's reaction?" she softly inquired.

To this Kyou gave a slow nod. "Yeah . . . I know I haven't known Saunders for long but he seems like a really nice guy . . .he doesn't seem like the one who is capable of being mean to anyone . . . at least I don't think so . . ."

They walked on for a few moments in silence, until Nagisa spoke up, "Is Saunders-san a foreigner? His skin seemed awfully light."

"Yeah he is he said himself that he was originally from the United States . . . you think it might be because he's a foreigner?"

"Possibly," sighed Nagisa. "Racism is such a terrible thing . . ." Her voice trailed off as she looked down at the ground sadly. Kyou had to agree with Nagisa on this point, Racism seemed so pointless and saddening . . . .

A small voice suddenly pierced the thoughts of Kyou and Nagisa, "Mama?" piped up Ushio, she still riding on Botan's back. "What's um . . . what's racey-ism?"

Normally Kyou would have chuckled at such a cute mispronunciation but the oppressive mood still hung over her.

Nagisa looked down at Ushio as she came up with an explanation. "That's racism, Ushio," she corrected. "It means that some people don't like others just because they're from a different place. Like Saunders-san, he's not from Japan but is actually from a whole other country."

This explanation did not seem to sit well with Ushio, she looking utterly confused. "Why?" she simply asked.

"Why what?" asked Nagisa in return.

"Why does it matter if San-san is from somewhere else?" clarified Ushio.

"Unfortunately Ushio a lot of people seem to be afraid of anything that is different. Coming from a different home, being different . . . it makes people afraid, and being afraid makes them act mean." explained Nagisa, her tone of voice melancholy.

Beginning to understand, Ushio also seemed to begin to carry the sorrow of knowing that such a view was still present within today's society.

"We can help though," quickly said Kyou. Ushio looked up, her gaze inquiring as to what Kyou meant. "We can be different; we can act nice to Saunders-san no matter what. In time I'm sure people will see that he is just another human, not so different from us. We can do that, can't we?"

"Yep!" the child happily exclaimed, she being clearly cheered by Kyou's words. Botan voiced her approval too with a familiar grunt of, "Gof! Gof!" Kyou smiled, as did Nagisa, all four of them continuing their walk to school, now happy again.

They chatted together and although Kyou had a bright smile on her face, deep down she felt worried, but wasn't entirely sure as to why. She'd catch herself looking ahead of them, trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of Kale. Yet, he was long gone, completely out of sight by the time Kyou was done talking with Nakamura. Every time she caught herself staring down the street Kyou would shake her head, both in frustration and in an effort to clear her head.

Eventually she, along with her companions, arrived at the school gates. Kyou wasn't surprised to see that no other student or their parents had yet arrived. In fact the grounds were visibly empty of any humanoid life except for Kale Saunders.

The janitor, adorned in his dark blue jumpsuit, sat on a bench that was shaded by a tree. Judging from what cleaning materials sat next to him, he must have started or was planning to start cleaning the windows. Even though he was not facing directly towards them Kyou could somewhat sense his emotions. His slumped shoulders and hanging head betrayed his emotional fatigue. It was almost as if he carried the whole weight of the world on his shoulders. Kyou hated seeing him this way, and she knowing the compassionate nature of Nagisa and her daughter, guessed that they probably felt the same way about Kale as she did.

Kyou was about to prompt Ushio to go over to Kale, but the child acted on her own before she could say anything. Sliding off of Botan's back, Ushio ran on over. Without any warning, Ushio wrapped her arms around Kale as far as she could reach. The janitor looked up in surprise.

"Morning San-san!" happily greeted Ushio. At first no words came from the janitor, the surprise of the sudden hug still hindering any action. But Kale eventually responded, lightly returning the hug as a soft smile began to creep upon his face.

"Good morning Ushio-chan," said Kale. He looked up and saw Kyou, Nagisa, and Botan closing what little distance now remained between them.

"Ah, hello Fujibayashi-san," greeted Kale, giving a bow after he stood up to properly greet them. Looking over at Nagisa, Kale spoke again, "You must be Okazaki-san I'm assuming, Ushio-chan's mother?"

"Yes," replied Nagisa in a happy tone, almost as if she were proud of the familial connection she shared with Ushio. "I'm Okazaki Nagisa. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Saunders-san."

"The pleasure is mine I assure you," said Kale. He smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

Kyou decided to save Kale from the burden of making small talk. "So, are you doing alright Saunders?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Well . . . we saw how rude that woman was to you," explained the kindergarten teacher. Merely thinking back on the memory of that woman began to poison Kyou's emotions with anger.

"Ah yeah . . . that . . ." sighed Kale. His emotions seemed to be poisoned by that memory as well, just like Kyou. Though the emotional poison that afflicted him was not anger, at least not as far as anyone could tell. Instead it seemed to be sorrow that was creeping into his heart.

"It's just so stupid how people can act so rude. Racism is such a idiotic thing," huffed Kyou.

Kale looked up at Fujibayashi. It surprised her that his face was set in confusion. "Racism?" he merely uttered, "Nakamura-san a racist? Oh no, she isn't a racist at all." Kale was quick to jump to her defense and he sounded quite sincere.

"Well, why did she treat you so badly then?" questioned Kyou. She didn't mean to sound so frustrated but she thought that maybe Kale was defending Nakamura. Defense of one who did wrong to you was an ideal that did not sit well with the purple-haired young woman.

"She um . . . well . . ." Kale's gaze flicked away from Kyou's face. "She has her reasons . . ."

Kyou was befuddled into silence. What kind of reason could the woman have if not racism? Questions begged to be released from Kyou's closed mouth but they were destined to remain silenced for now, as the sudden vibrating and loud ringing of her cell phone grabbed Kyou's attention.

"Excuse me for a moment," Kyou apologized. She walked a few feet away, pulling out her cell phone from her pocket as she did so. The caller's name was revealed once she flipped the phone open. Kyou instantly recognized the name displayed on the phone's screen, it being the name of her twin sister Ryou. Eager to talk to her, Kyou brought the cell phone to her ear.

"Hello?" said Kyou, "That you, Ryou?"

"Hello Onee-chan!" happily responded Ryou. The voice seemed much more energetic and jovial then it normally was which stunned Kyou a bit.

"Well . . . you seem quite happy don't you?" chuckled Kyou. Though the mood of Ryou seemed more outspoken then normal it being happy made Kyou happy as well.

"W-well, yeah I am," stammered Ryou. Kyou couldn't help but chuckle again, emotionally placated by the familiarity of her sister's normally reserved personality. The chuckle was probably not that loud or disruptive as Ryou made no comment on it. Instead the younger twin's voice again began to drift from the cell phone Kyou was using.

"I was hoping that we could get together later today," began Ryou. "You know . . . and talk about things . . ." Having been so close with her for so long Kyou sensed that something was amiss, though she tried to silently reassure herself that she was still confused and wound up by the morning's previous events and was thus imaging things.

"Sure, sounds like fun," said Kyou. "Just tell me when and where."

"Oh . . . you know that one outdoor cafe that we used to go to all the time. You remember that place don't you?

"Yep, of course I do." She and her sister had gone to that little cafe so many times; it was interwoven with many of her memories of when she was back in high school.

"Okay. Well, um . . ." Ryou's voice trailing off in the manner it did made it abundantly clear to Kyou that Ryou had something else she wanted to say, though obviously she was apprehensive to talk about it. "How about you bring a friend too?"

"Huh?" was all Kyou could say at first. It wasn't exactly an unusual request but it wasn't one she had been expecting, not with the way Ryou was acting. "I dunno, why don't we go out, just the two of us. You know, sisterly bonding and all that stuff."

"N-no, I think it would be more fun as a g-group," denied Ryou. While the stammering of the voice would make others think that her denial was flimsy and easily broken down by insistence, Kyou knew otherwise. In such matters, despite her reserved nature, Ryou could be quite insistent. Kyou decided to accept, sighing as she gave an agreement to Ryou's request.

"Great! Let's meet about an hour after you get off work, is that okay?"

"It's no trouble at all," assured Kyou. The meeting itself was indeed no trouble at all. What really bewildered her was the strange manner in which Ryou was acting. Kyou decided not to say anything though, guessing that she might obtain some answers when she saw Ryou later.

"Alright, I'll see you then."

"See ya later, Ryou,"

With farewells said Kyou flipped her phone closed. As she put the phone back into her pocket Kyou gave forth what felt like the millionth sigh of the morning. Why did everything have to be so confusing? What was it that made others hate such a nice person like Kale so much? What was it that made Ryou so nervous?

Kyou wanted to grip her head and simply howl in frustration. She did not however, still desiring to maintain a certain level of dignity and control in front of Ushio. The confusion of the morning was really starting to get to her though.

Taking a few deep breaths Kyou calmed herself. It didn't matter if she didn't know the answers right now. She would figure it all out sooner or later, as she was determined to do so. Her curiosity and agitation burned brightly. If anyone got in her way . . . well, they'd better watch it. If they did they would be downed by Kyou's favorite form of attack, a dictionary to the face.


	4. Chapter 3: Moving Forward

a/n: I apologize for the delay in this being posted. I have been and still am currently ill, it being rather nasty. Those of you who write or do other such creative activities I am sure know how being considerably sick can mess with your muse. As such I am not sure when the next chapter will be released. However I will do it as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and continued reading. On with the story!

Chapter Three: Moving Forward

"Thank you again for inviting me out," said Kale as he walked with Kyou down the busy street.

"Nah, don't worry about it. It wasn't a big deal." Indeed what she said was true; it really was no big deal.

When she'd gotten off the phone with Ryou, Kyou had asked Nagisa if she would go with her. But Nagisa had quickly declined, saying something about going on a picnic after school with Ushio and her husband, Tomoya. Ushio's surprised look in response to her mother's answer made Kyou doubt the validity of her statement. She didn't pursue it though and had turned to Kale instead, since he was standing right there. She didn't want to be rude by not inviting him along, not after she discussed the outing with Nagisa right in front of him. Plus a potential bonus was that the outing might help cheer Kale up some, though what exactly was wrong with him, Kyou still didn't know.

As they walked down the street the two remained mostly silent. Kyou was such mainly because she didn't know what was going on with Kale and she still couldn't figure out why it bothered her so much. She was stuck in deep thought and thus, greatly distracted, preventing her from making much meaningful conversation. Though, she did occasionally glance over at Kale, observing him, wishing to find an answer as to what was wrong with him. While Kale did seem a little down, he didn't look nearly as bad as he did that morning. He was even smiling a little. Kyou eventually stopped looking over at him, wishing to avoid any possibility of Kale looking back at her and seeing that she was watching him. That may give him the wrong idea. Instead, Kyou concentrated on the road ahead, and was happy to discover that they weren't too far from the café.

Kyou didn't have to look too hard for her sister since a waving arm from a smiling face instantly told her that Ryou was in the outdoor part of the cafe. Kyou smiled back at her, waving just as excitedly. No matter what, it was always pleasing to see her dear sister, especially when she was in a good mood. Kyou observed Ryou's beaming smile as they were invited to sit down at the table with her.

"It's so good to see you again, Onee-chan," smiled Ryou. When Ryou had started calling Kyou Onee-chan some many years ago, it was strange at first, since they were twins. However Ryou had adopted calling her that since Kyou had been born first, making her technically older. Kyou had gotten use to it over the years so it didn't even register as unusual anymore. However to strangers it might be a tiny bit confusing.

"So your Kyou's younger sister, then?" asked Kale.

"In a way, yes," politely replied Ryou. "We're twins but she was born first. That's why I call her Onee-chan, since she's technically older than me."

"Ah, I see," said Kale. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Kale Saunders." Though he was seated, Kale bowed his upper body some to Ryou who was sitting in front of him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Saunders-san," smiled Ryou. "I'm Ryou Fujibayashi." They grew quiet for a moment as the three of them perused the provided menus, deciding on what to eat. Kyou happened to look up from her menu and saw that Ryou was looking at her and Kale, switching her gaze back and forth. She suddenly began to get an uneasy feeling.

"So . . ." Ryou started quietly, "Is Saunders-san your boyfriend?" she asked Kyou.

Despite having expected a question like that, Kyou's face smacked the table, hands still clutching the menu. She quickly picked her head back up and spoke, her tone tense. "No he isn't!" she barked, "Geez, why does everyone think that?" She noticed that Kale had turned his face away from them, embarrassed, his face red.

Ryou was also flustered due to her misconception. "Well . . . um . . . I guess it's because he seems nice and that you two seem like a cute couple . . ." she stammered, trying to explain her blunder. This didn't make the situation any better, as it just made Kale blush even more and Kyou bury her face in her hands, her own face beginning to turn red. "Please Ryou . . ." her voice was half growling, half pleading, "Please . . . just shut up."

Thankfully, Ryou complied, deciding to not say anymore on the matter. The three remained quiet, concentrating on the menus in front of them, yet it was mostly out of embarrassment and not an actual desire for food. Eventually they did each order a dish, the menus thus taken away. Now, not having anything to distract them, Ryou decided to try and strike up a conversation. "So how do you know my sister Saunders-san?"

"I'm actually the janitor at the school where Kyou works," he explained. "We happened to meet when I was petting Botan and she came out to see who I was."

"Oh, I see . . ." said Ryou, looking down at her hands then she glanced back up at Kyou, "How is Botan doing anyways?"

"She's doing great," informed Kyou.

"Where is she right now?" Ryou knew that bringing a boar of Botan's size to an outdoor cafe would certainly create chaos; she mainly asked the question in hope of continuing the conversation.

"She's back at my place, where else?"

After receiving an "Oh, right . . ." Kyou noticed that Ryou had grown quiet and she was starting to fidget. She knew right away what this meant; Ryou had something to say but was shy in saying it.

"What is it, Ryou?" Kyou abruptly asked, wishing to not beat around the bush.

"E-excuse me?" stuttered Ryou.

Kyou's purple eyes narrowed as she glared at her sister. "I know you, Ryou. I am your sister after all." she stated. "I know when you want to say something and you're afraid to do so. Just spit it out already."

Ryou's gaze lowered to the table as she struggled to choke out the words. "Well . . . u-um . . ." No matter how she tried Ryou couldn't seem to say what she wanted. Eventually she gave up trying verbal communication and instead decided to rely on action. Raising her left arm, Ryou extended her hand forward so that it was in plain sight. Immediately, Kyou could see what had flustered her so much. Adorned upon her ring finger was a shiny silver ring.

"I-is this . . .?" Stunned by what this meant Kyou couldn't finish her own sentence.

"An engagement ring, yes . . ." Ryou mumbled. Kyou and Ryou sat there for a moment in silence, Kale also quiet but merely watching from the sidelines, not knowing Ryou well enough to say anything. Eventually the air was rent in twain by a high pitched squeal as Kyou quickly got up and ran around the small table to hug her sister. "I'm so happy for you!" laughed Kyou. Ryou's blue eyes went wide, surprised by Kyou's sudden reaction.

"Y-you mean . . . you aren't mad?" softly asked Ryou.

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" blinked Kyou, confused by the question.

"Well . . . um, I never even told you that I was dating anyone . . . and then I sprang this on you so suddenly. I was sure you would be angry with me."

Kyou responded with a hearty laugh, followed by a few slaps of Ryou's shoulder. "I wouldn't be mad at you, Ryou. You are your own person; you _can_ live your own life. You don't have to report every little thing to me," she assured her sister, smiling warmly at her, as she sat back down in her chair. "That's why you asked me to bring a friend, wasn't it? You figured if I had a friend along, I'd control my anger better, right?"

"R-right . . ." Ryou replied weakly.

Kyou smiled and then began her barrage of questions. "What's his name anyways?"

"It's Hiiragi Kappei."

"Hiiragi being his family name I suppose?" asked Kyou. She herself was pretty sure that was such, but she asked in order to inform Kale in a roundabout way of which was which.

"That's right," confirmed Ryou with a nod. "I met him through my job at the hospital."

The sisters continued to talk, Kyou mainly casting forth questions and Ryou responding with answers. Kale sat quietly for most of their transaction, he occasionally glancing at Kyou. She didn't realize it since she was so absorbed in her conversation with Ryou but Kale's eyes had a hint of worry in them. Kale didn't say anything though and continued to sit in silence.

* * *

After about an hour and a half of talking, the three finally decided to go their separate ways. Ryou went one way while Kale and Kyou went another. The two decided to walk home together since Kale's apartment was on the same way as Kyou's. They traveled on in silence, Kale occasionally glancing over at Kyou when she wasn't looking. Worry still tainted his gaze, though he didn't say anything right away. Eventually, he finally decided to speak up.

"You lied back there, didn't you?" he asked. Despite his non accusing tone, Kyou still whipped her head around, anger beginning to stir within her.

"Excuse me?" she growled, not liking being accused of dishonesty.

"Well, um . . ." Kale was slightly staggered by her anger but he didn't stop. "When you said that you were happy for Ryou and not mad . . . that was a lie, wasn't it?"

Kyou immediately opened her mouth to give forth her denial, yet she suddenly found herself unable to do so. Her mouth flopped open and closed like a fish, as her mind attempted to find the right words to say. Finally she quietly said, "Well . . . in a way it wasn't." She looked away from him, guessing that he was giving her a doubtful look. "But, then again . . . you're completely right," she sighed.

"So, you were mad at her?"

"I'm . . . I'm not sure," Kyou sighed. "I think I am, but that's just stupid of me to feel that way. She's allowed to live her own life; she is twenty-five years old after all . . . yet, I feel hurt and I'm not exactly sure why."

Kale thought for a moment, his hand brought to his chin. He then lowered his hand when done pondering. "You don't have a boyfriend right now do you?" he asked.

"What has that got to do with anything?" she asked indignantly.

"Well, I have a guess as to what may be bothering you," the janitor stated simply.

Kyou sighed, eventually giving him an answer. "No I don't have a boyfriend."

"I see . . ." said Kale thoughtfully. "Could it be that you're jealous of Ryou, then?"

"Jealous? Of what?" she asked.

"Having a significant other," he replied quickly. "Could it be that you feel as if you're being left behind, as if everyone is moving on and progressing through life, while you yourself stand still?"

Again, Kyou wanted to deny what Kale was saying, to deny that she was so petty as to feel jealous. Yet, again she could not, for she knew that deep down, Kale was exactly right.

"Yeah, I-I guess so," she stammered slightly. "It's silly though . . . here I am living out my dream and yet I still want more."

"What is your dream?" inquired Kale.

"To be a kindergarten teacher," answered the young purple-haired woman. "I find it amazing that I'm entrusted with the lives of children, to be able to influence their lives and help make the world a better place. But . . ." Kyou's head, which had risen as she spoke passionately about her beloved profession lowered, her gaze pointed at the ground. "But somehow, I don't feel very satisfied . . . guess I'm a greedy person huh?"

"Not at all," firmly said Kale. "People are never truly complete, never finished moving forward. We continually strive forward, seeking to improve ourselves and go after our dreams. You yourself are living your dream, right now, as you just said. But without direction, you feel as if you're wandering aimlessly, am I right?" Kyou nodded in agreement, to which Kale continued to speak. "So it's natural for you to find something else to live for, something to give you direction. You don't have to give up on the dream you're living right now, but just find another dream, one that you can add to your current dream."

"But what if you don't know what your dream is?" wondered Kyou.

"Well, as silly as it sounds then that can be your dream, to dream of finding another dream . . . guess that sounds strange, huh?"

"Not at all," said Kyou, softly shaking her head, a smile beginning to creep back onto her face. "It makes perfect sense . . ." she quietly contemplated his words, and then looked back up at him, "You sound as if you are speaking from experience though."

"Yeah, I am," Kale sighed. "For the longest time back in America, I felt as if I was standing completely still, and that the world around me was progressing faster than I could comprehend. Before I knew it my two older brothers were both married, had children, and living out their dream careers. Yet I remained standing still, living every other day as if it were a continuous loop of repetition."

"That was when I decided to reach for my dream, to grab it and move forward no matter what. I succeeded in what I wanted to do for so long. And yet, I wanted more, I wanted to progress."

"What was your dream?"

"To move to Japan," easily answered Kale. "I've always been fascinated with the culture, the beautiful language, nearly everything about it. That's why I moved here from the U.S."

"Did you ever decide what your next goal would be?" inquired Kyou. She was eager to know if this young man had followed his own advice and found another dream to look for.

"Well . . . yeah," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I wanted to be a manga artist."

"A manga artist, eh?" she was a bit surprised. Most people she knew weren't that interested in art so talking to one who was interested was new for her.

"Yeah," laughed Kale nervously. "You see, I draw art for fun, I find that creating something is quite fascinating. I know I'm not good enough to be a professional, but I still want to someday, draw art professionally that is. Ever since I decided what to work for I noticed that I worked harder since I wanted to reach that goal and not just simply survive."

"Well, I think that's quite admirable," said Kyou, smiling at him.

He looked away, blushing yet again. "I'm sure you'll find something to work towards Fujibayashi-san," said Kale. "You're a strong person that much I can tell."

Though she didn't avert her gaze like Kale had, Kyou did blush. "Thanks a lot Saunders-san. Your words helped me out a lot."

"It was my pleasure. I'm just glad I could help," replied Kale. Looking up he noticed they had arrived at his apartment. "Well, this is my stop. I suppose, I'll see you tomorrow, Fujibayashi-san."

"Yeah . . . see ya." said Kyou. She turned and began walking down the street when an idea struck her. Turning around she called out, "Hey, Kale?"

"Hmm, what is it?" asked Kale, stopping turning his key in the door and looking up at her.

"How about we have lunch again tomorrow, we can trade dishes again . . . does that sound good?"

"That's sounds great," he smiled. "I look forward to tomorrow's meal."

"As do I," replied Kyou, smiling back at him. She waved goodbye, then turned and continued walking down the street.

She softly repeated her parting words to Kale, "As do I." A warm smile spread across her face as she thought of the next day. She truly did look forward to it.

* * *

a/n: Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews of any nature other then flames are appreciated. Thank you for you time.


	5. Chapter 4: ansmaok

KyleEvers: Pigs are flying! The impossible has occurred! I finally updated the story! Heh, sorry it took so long. I won't give you any excuses or such, I'll simply say, sorry. I apologize and will do my best to make the time till the next update not as long. Anyways, I hope you will enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 4: A Not So Mysterious Act of Kindness

The next morning, Kyou didn't need the aid of her alarm clock. She was up well before it was even close to going off. Before she knew it, she was up, dressed and preparing both her breakfast and lunch, as usual.

Kyou was a calm, yet powerful force in the kitchen. She needn't rush, nor had any reason to panic while cooking. Years of practice and an innate talent guided her.

Eventually her breakfast was finished, it being at a time when the lunch did not need her immediate attention, just as she'd planned. She promptly sat down to eat, and despite there being no need for any rush, she found herself rushing anyway. She consumed her breakfast rapidly and found herself back within the domain of her kitchen in what felt like seconds.

It was strange. She couldn't figure out why she was so eager to return to her cooking. Granted, she did enjoy it, but never this much. The only reason that seemed even remotely possible was that she was excited about what the lunch meant.

Previously, her life had fallen into a routine, one so predictable that it had grown somewhat dull. Yet something new had come into her life, she had acquired a new friend.

"Friend, huh . . .?" Kyou muttered to herself. When had she started to think of Kale as a friend? Looking back she couldn't think of any specific time, in fact looking back actually cast skepticism on their friendship, seeing as they'd only known each other for a short time. She hadn't even realized that it was only a mere two days since she'd met Kale. It felt like so much longer. She chuckled to herself in remembering the familiar saying, _Time flies when you're having fun._ However in this case, time seemed to slow down.

Kyou shrugged, it didn't really matter.

Glancing up at the kitchen wall clock, she saw that she had more than enough time till she had to leave for work. Returning to her cooking, she finished fixing her lunch without any problem. After packing it away into a nice black bento she began to gather up her school things as well, a clean work apron here, an extra pair of shoes there. One really couldn't be too careful with a rowdy kindergarten class. Her shoes always seemed to end up missing, so she had an extra pair on hand, just in case.

Then, she fixed her light purple hair up into its usual pony tail, grabbed her apartment keys and walked on out the door. She'd be a little early to work, but that was fine with her. After all, she might catch a glimpse of Kale.

Kyou called out for Botan and once the boar had been properly greeted with a good petting and a treat or two, they finally set off, Botan following Kyou as the two of them traveled on down the familiar street.

As she passed by another set of apartments, not too far from her own and about halfway to school, Kyou caught herself looking at them, since she remembered that this was where Kale lived. After a quick glance at her wristwatch she guessed that he must have already left for work. Shrugging nonchalantly, she continued on.

Soon enough, Kyou had arrived at the preschool. Looking out on the grounds of the front playground she noticed Kale sitting on a bench, looking down at something he held in his hands. Moving closer she could see it was a large pad of paper.

_A drawing, maybe?_ she thought. Kale had told her yesterday that he was an aspiring artist. She moved closer, her presence apparently unknown to him as he was so concentrated on his paper, pencil in hand.

Now just a few feet away, she leaned over and snuck a peek at his artwork. But she couldn't quite tell what the pencil markings were meant to be, they honestly didn't look like anything from this angle.

Finally, Kyou decided to speak up and make her presence known, "Working on some art, huh?"

Kale was caught completely off guard. He flailed slightly, leaning back as he clutched the pad of paper tightly to his chest. He made no outward cry, but his physical actions and wide eyes attested to just how startled he was.

"S-sorry about that," he sighed, once he noticed it was Kyou and returned to a more relaxed position. "I didn't even realize you were there."

"That's kind of a surprise considering how loud Botan is," Kyou pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the large boar. "Gof! Gof!" Botan greeted.

Kale smiled and stood up from the bench. He walked over and gently brushed his hand over her dark brown fur, "Nice to see you, Botan."

She sighed a happy little grunt, quite pleased. Pleasure overwhelmed her so much so, that she slumped to the ground, eyes closing in contentment, while Kale continued to pet her.

Kyou grinned at her antics, chuckling lightly. "Botan really loves a good rub," she informed him.

"I can tell."

"So, what were you drawing anyways?" she inquired, changing subjects.

"Well . . . it wasn't anything important . . ." he mumbled, taking his hand off of Botan. He shifted his feet occasionally, glancing here and there.

"Oh c'mon, what is it? Let me see," Kyou demanded, offering up an open hand to take his drawing pad. Her gaze never shifted from him, it being a powerful weapon in breaking one's resolve.

Kale struggled inwardly for a few moments, obviously debating the matter in his mind. Her powerful gaze chipped away at his feeble defense. He eventually sighed and gave up his drawings to her. "Just promise me you won't laugh."

"Don't worry, I won't." She quickly flipped to the drawing he had been working on and was immediately stunned into silence. Why Kale would ever be embarrassed of his obviously amazing talent, she would never understand.

The drawing was incomplete, but what he had done so far was great. A dragon, similar to those in European myth, was sketched out on the paper, its strong and noble face gazing out towards the viewer. The dragon only needed some more detailing, such as the scales on its tail and rear legs. Even with those tiny details detracting from the quality of the picture, it was still an incredibly beautiful piece.

"You drew this . . .?" Kyou asked quietly in near disbelief. Kale nodded, looking away with a blooming blush coloring his cheeks.

She looked down at the drawing then back to him again. "This is amazing."

"Really?" he asked hopefully. He seemed surprised by the compliment.

"Really," she confirmed with a wide smile, "I remember you saying that your art wasn't good enough for professional work, but I have to disagree. This is great."

"Well I'm glad you like it so much," Kales rubbed the back of his head. "But the thing is that with professionals, they can do all that in a small amount of time. With me . . . well, it takes a _really _long time. You have to draw manga at a quick and constant pace if you want to make a good amount of money."

"I suppose . . . but, if you created a manga, wouldn't you have assistants that could help you?"

"Well, possibly . . . but the problem is, that it's difficult to get started. I'd need a good amount of savings to keep me supported while I get into the groove of things. Actually, that's why I'm working here, to earn more money."

"As good a plan as any, I suppose," Kyou agreed as she handed back his drawing pad.

Silence fell upon the two of them for a moment, the current topic of conversation having died off, when Kyou suddenly remembered something, "Oh, did you remember to make a dish for lunch today?"

"Yeah, it's a soup that my mother used to make."

"A soup, huh? Are soups your strong point, then? 'Cause you made that stew yesterday."

"Ah well, I guess you could say that," replied Kale, "I never thought about it much, but now that you mention it, I do tend to make a lot of soups. I guess I find them easier to cook, since it's just me at home."

"Hmm . . . well whatever the case is, I'm quite excited to try it," she smiled.

* * *

Kyou closed her eyes, maximizing the concentration on her sense of smell. Inhaling, she was overcome by a wave of pleasant aromas.

Opening her eyes she huffed slightly. Yet again, Kale's food smelled absolutely mouth-watering and looking back on the meals he'd prepared before; it probably tasted just as delicious as it smelled. Her gaze then wandered towards the window as she dwelt on her recent past.

The meal that Kale had brought on the day that she'd inspected his artwork had been particularly delicious, so much so, that she was in fact, a tiny bit jealous. Challenging him to yet another lunchtime meal, Kyou was determined to make a better dish then him. He could hardly refuse her challenge, especially since it was more of an order then a request. Normally, she'd have later felt bad for imposing herself on someone, though she would never admit it. In this case however, Kale seemed to enjoy the challenge. He made wonderfully tasty meals which would fire her up even more. She kept on extending the challenge over to the next day, and then the day after that, it continuing on until the end of the school week.

Kyou chuckled softly to herself. Normally, she looked forward to Sundays, her regular day off from work, taken as time to relax and rejuvenate herself for another week of dealing with her lovable, yet tiring class of children. That Sunday however, Kyou found to be incredibly dull. She found herself pacing around in her small apartment, frustratingly agitated, like she had a bothersome itch she couldn't scratch.

Though she went to the park with Botan and spent some quality time at the shopping district, along with all of her usual Sunday activities, nothing satisfied her as it once did. At first she couldn't figure out the reason. But as she lay in bed that Sunday night, feeling anxious for Monday, Kyou finally realized that she actually wanted to go back to work right away. The lunches that she shared with Kale excited her so, that a day without them was now considerably dulled.

The next week commenced and Kale came with a dish for Kyou to sample, just as he said he would. Yet again, it was a great meal, and the challenges continued on, though by now it was more of a friendly event then an attempt to crush him in a cooking competition.

On Wednesday of that week, Kyou had her scooter checked out since it had broken down. Repairs were possible, though due to the old age of her scooter they would be extensive and thus very damaging to her savings. She decided to just go ahead and sell the scooter for parts. It was rather saddening for Kyou, since she had owned that scooter since high school.

The next day Kyou went to work and was quite visibly grumpy. Kale seemed a little reluctant to have lunch with her, for which she couldn't blame him. However they went ahead with it anyway. It was quite uncomfortable at first, but after a couple minutes, they began to talk.

By the end of lunch, Kyou had revealed the whole truth to Kale, making him one of the few people that hadd ever known she'd owned a scooter and actually drove it to school, since such an action could have gotten her suspended. When lunch was over, Kyou found that her bad mood had dispersed almost completely, although she was unsure of why. It's not like she and Kale had done anything special, all they did was talk.

The rest of the week's lunches went on without much event, though Kyou still enjoyed them immensely. When Sunday rolled around, she was once again assaulted by boredom and the burning desire to go back to work. The day progressed very slowly but eventually, it did pass.

When she came back to work on Monday, Kyou seemed so excited that Kale even commented on it, though she simply said it was nothing in particular.

Their shared lunches became a normal part of her routine, albeit one that excited her and she actually looked forward to each day and this was why Kyou found herself tapping her foot, impatiently waiting for Kale to return for lunch. Just as they were about to eat, Kale realized that he had forgotten his utensils. He'd quickly left for the faculty break room, in hopes that he would find them there.

Not wanting to eat by herself, she decided to wait for him, before consuming the delicious smelling food that tempted her sorely. Her classes idle chatter as they ate their own lunches were at least able to distract Kyou somewhat.

Sudden audio emanating from her cell phone grabbed her wandering attention. Flipping it open she immediately recognized the caller as Ryou. Kyou had a good guess as to what it might be: picking out patterns, advice on dresses, flower arrangements, the guest list.

Kyou shuddered at the thought of having to go to go shopping for hours on end, while Ryou tried on hundreds of different wedding dresses or searched for a suitable venue. While she was truly happy for her, it was all starting to become a bit too much. Multiple times now, Ryou had been forced to drag Kyou to go with her to help prepare for the wedding.

Kyou shook her head slightly in disbelief, Ryou and her fiancé hadn't even decided on a date yet. She _was _her sister though, so Kyou ignored her dread and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Onii-chan," happily chirped Ryou. "I wanted to ask you something if I may." Kyou couldn't contain a groan of annoyance when she heard those words. Ryou was most likely going to ask her if she was available tonight. Kyou decided that she would make up some excuse to try and get out of it, at least for today.

"Sure, by all means," she answered dryly.

"Well, I was wondering if you were free this Friday?"

"No, I'm really busy toda- wait, Friday?" Her question caught Kyou off guard, since Ryou usually asked her to go shopping with her on whatever day she happened to call.

"Yeah. Nagisa, Tomoya and the others are planning a party for us this Friday, after you and I get off from work."

"Party? Why are they throwing us a party? You're the one who's engaged," said Kyou, quite confused.

"An engagement party? No, no, it's not for me, Sis. Did you forget what the ninth of this month is?"

"The ninth? What's so special about the ninth . . .?" Kyou mumbled to herself.

Suddenly it struck her like a bolt of lightning, how could she forget about September ninth?

"Oh of course, it's our birthday!" laughed Kyou. "I totally forgot, sorry about that."

"Well it's perfectly understandable." Ryou chuckled along with her sister. "We're adults now; we have quite a few things to worry about other then birthday parties."

"Yeah, now birthdays only remind us of how old we are," Kyou sighed.

"Hey, we're only turning 26, it's not like we're old women," quickly retorted Ryou.

Kyou couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah I suppose. Anyway, Friday's open as far as I know."

"Ah, good. That's nice to hear. We'll all be by to pick you up after you get off work," Ryou told her.

"Alright. See ya then."

"Hope to talk to you again soon." The phone gave a click signaling that Ryou had hung up. Kyou closed her phone and sighed happily, looking forward to Friday.

Suddenly, a voice drifted from behind her. "Your birthday's this Friday, huh?"

Surprised, Kyou shrieked, jumping a few inches from her sitting position. Whirling around she glared at Kale. Quickly grabbing a nearby dictionary, she jumped up to a standing position, and whacked him soundly on the top of the head. Thankfully for him, she didn't hit him as hard as she'd practiced on other certain people, namely Sunohara. Otherwise Kale would have immediately taken to the floor.

"Don't you dare do that again!" she growled at him.

He rubbed his head, wincing in pain, as he looked back at her warily. "Sorry about that," apologized the janitor. "You could say I'm simply returning the favor," Kale said in regards to her surprising him that morning two weeks ago, when he'd been drawing in the courtyard.

The return glare from Kyou made him drop the weak attempt at teasing, and instead turned the conversation to another subject. "But, I did hear that your birthday is this Friday, right?"

"Yeah it's no big deal though. Just another birthday," Kyou blew it off, acting all nonchalant. She didn't want Kale to feel obligated to do anything for her. Knowing how nice he was, he'd most likely want to make a big deal out of it.

"Hmm, I know the feeling. After twenty-five years of birthdays they can get to be . . . how should I put it . . . expected, I suppose. The more that go by, the more they lose the mystique they once had when we were children. Though, sharing your birthday with friends can make it fun again."

"Yeah, that is true," agreed Kyou. Then, remembering their lunch, "Hey, how bout we eat now? I'm starving."

"Yeah, sure."

They sat down on the cloth laid out on the classroom floor. They both chorused the standard, "Itadakimasu" and then began to eat. At first, words were hardly exchanged, the two of them concentrating on the delicious meals they had prepared, though a few compliments were exchanged between the two, Kale praising Kyou's cooking skills and vice versa.

"So, when is your birthday anyways?" wondered Kyou. Kale did not speak immediately, as he was chewing his food at the time. After he was done he turned to face her as he spoke.

"March twenty-first. I was born in 1987."

"1987 huh?" said Kyou in mild surprise. "I was born in 1986."

"Guess that makes you older than me."

"Hey!" she suddenly barked. A few of the kindergartners looked up and saw that their teacher's wrath was not directed at them. Knowing this, they promptly resumed eating, while Kale looked surprised and even a little scared. Kyou kept her glare on the janitor for a few moments; her frightening purple gaze almost seemed to burn a hole through its intended target.

"I am not old!" she growled and leaned forward, he leaning back from her in response.

"I never said anything about you being old, I just said you were older than me," he quickly stammered, in hopes of calming the storm that was Kyou's wrath.

Luckily for the janitor it did work, as Kyou quickly realized that what he said was true. She leaned back, her face a clear indication of the fact that she was quite embarrassed for the misunderstanding. Eating was resumed quickly, mostly to try and avoid the awkward air that now hung in between them. Since no more significant conversations arose between the two, they were finished rather quickly. After the two gave back their empty dishes, Kale stood up.

"You're leaving already?" Since the latter part of their meal had been consumed with considerable speed, they still had quite a bit of free time before the lunch break was over. They could still sit and talk.

"Yeah," Kale sighed. "I'm sorry to leave, but there's something I have to do."

Kyou looked at him somewhat suspiciously, guessing that he was running away since she'd snapped at him earlier. However she wasn't sure and so kept her mouth shut about it. "Okay, see ya later then."

"Later," replied Kale.

* * *

When they had lunch together again the next day, Kyou noticed that Kale seemed somewhat distracted. From what she had gathered over the past two weeks she'd known him, Kale was a quiet fellow. But even taking that into consideration, it didn't seem to explain why he barely said anything at all during lunch. Kale also ate rather fast and once he was done he quickly excused himself, saying that he had some errand to run. Kyou did not object, but was still rather curious about his behavior.

Wednesday was almost exactly the same as the day before. He said very little during lunch and as soon as he was done, he left in a hurry. Kyou still looked forward to lunch, but it had turned more into a source of curiosity.

Thursday passed in much the same way that the previous days had. Kyou couldn't help but wonder if Kale would do the same thing on her birthday.

When Kyou showed up to school on Friday, she saw Kale washing the outside windows as he so often did. Though apparently, work was not as absorbing as his artwork was. He turned to face her, most likely because he'd heard Botan, as she tended to make grunts and snuffles as she walked. Once Kale's gaze beheld who was approaching, he smiled instantly.

"Good Morning Fujibayashi-san," he happily greeted her. Although the greeting was warm and friendly, basically pleasant all-around, there was one part that sent chills up Kyou's spine.

"Please, there's no need to call me Fujibayashi-san," said Kyou as she suppressed yet another shiver. "Being called that by my friends, it makes me feel old . . ."

"Friend?" whispered Kale. Kyou looked at him, somewhat confused by the surprised tone of his voice. She saw that Kale was pointing to himself, looking surprised.

"You consider me a friend?" he asked quietly.

"Well of course, why not?" she put a hand on her hip. "We've eaten lunch together for the past two weeks. If I didn't like you, then I wouldn't have agreed to that." While Kyou did think that making a new friend was nice and all, she didn't see it as an extremely big deal.

Kale must have though, for he bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you very much." Returning to a standing position he asked, "What would you like me to call you if not, Fujibayashi-san?"

Kyou shrugged. "Just call me Kyou."

"You sure? You don't want me to call you something like, Kyou-chan?"

"No!" she exclaimed suddenly. Her exclamation startled both Kale and Botan, surprised by the strength of it. Kyou sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose for a moment. The -chan suffix with her forename just seemed too . . . cutesy.

"Just . . . Kyou, will be fine," she said exasperated by the situation.

"Very well, if that is your wish I will comply with it," Kale gave a slight bow. Suddenly, he bolted upright. "Oh! I almost forgot! Happy Birthday, Kyou!"

"Thanks," she smiled. Hearing those words from Kale made her oddly happy. Just on their own, those few words were quite worthy of being a most wonderful birthday present.

"Do you have a moment to spare?"

"Sure, it's still pretty early, plenty of time before class begins," shrugged Kyou.

Kale seemed to become excited at hearing these words. After placing down his cleaning supplies, he asked for Kyou to wait just a second. She simply nodded.

Once that was settled, he practically ran into the building, further puzzling Kyou, who in vain looked to Botan for answers. The boar only looked back at her master and emitted a soft grunt of confusion.

Kale came back out of the building with a very large pad of paper held carefully in his hands.

"Well first off, I want to say sorry for using her as a subject without your permission," said Kale, pointing at Botan. "I also couldn't decide on the exact nature of the piece I wanted to make, so to make it simple I just sketched two pieces." Kyou gave him a confused look, to which the janitor chuckled. "Maybe I should just show you." Flipping the torso-sized pad of paper around, he showed Kyou her birthday present.

The purple-haired young woman was instantly stunned. It was a picture of a boar, it certainly being none other than Botan, done in a realistic manner. Although it had minor flaws here and there, its beauty was still incredible. She was certain that if Kale wanted to be, he had the potential to become a professional artist.

"T-this is amazing!" she gasped, staggered by his skill.

Botan grunted, giving her usual, "Gof! Gof!" She was rather pleased to be featured in an art piece.

"Thanks," said Kale, face beaming with happiness. "It's for you."

"M-me?" Kyou stammered.

"Yep, this is my birthday present to you. Although, this isn't the only piece I made for your birthday. Remember how I said I couldn't decide on the exact nature of the piece I wanted to do?" Kyou quickly nodded her affirmative answer. "Well, I made two sketches of Botan. One done realistically like this one here, and the other . . . well, you should see for yourself." Kale flipped the piece of paper that was on top of the others to reveal another drawing.

The moment Kyou realized exactly what was on the paper, she burst out laughing. It was another drawing of Botan, although this one had more of a cartoonish nature. Realism obviously was not considered much at all, for the Botan in this picture wore a small cape, she flying through the air like a superhero.

"You like it then?"

"I love it," replied Kyou once she'd finally stifled her laughter. "I'm sorry for laughing so hard. It's not that I think it's silly or anything like that. I just laughed because . . . well, because it was so funny."

"Heh, well I didn't think it _that _funny," sheepishly said Kale as he blushed slightly. "But I'm glad you like it."

"Not just like it, I love it!" exclaimed Kyou. Botan grunted loudly, running around in circles beside the two of them. She chuckled at her antics. "Botan loves it too," Kyou translated.

"Thank you," Kale grinned, elated that his artwork was received so well. "But I'll have to officially give them to you later. I don't want to tear them off just by hand, I might rip the picture."

"That's perfectly fine."

Then something suddenly came to her, "So, Kale, is this the reason why you've been rushing through lunches all week?"

"Yeah," he admitted, "Like I said before it takes me a while to do my art work, especially fancy pieces such as these." Kale nervously rubbed the back of his head as he shifted his gaze here and there.

The silence that had fallen upon them felt somewhat awkward and judging from how Kale was acting, he must have felt so too. Unable to think of anything to say, but wanting to make certain that he knew just how appreciative she was for the thoughtful gift, Kyou let her actions speak for her. Walking forward, Kyou wrapped her arms around Kale, giving him a gentle hug. He stood there, shocked for a moment by her actions.

Kyou's voice was barely a whisper, "Thank you."

Somewhat timidly, Kale returned the gesture, wrapping one of his arms around her, the other arm holding the pad of paper trapped between them. For a few brief seconds everything around them, the whole world itself, seemed to stand still. Eventually Kyou realized that she had been hugging Kale for quite a few seconds now. She pushed away from him, face blushing furiously. She attempted to stutter something. Eventually, Kyou was able to utter the words she was looking for.

"If you tell anyone what happened just now, I'll kill you," she muttered, face still blushing. The threat carried with it an air of malevolence that made Kale gulp. He nodded quickly.

"W-well . . . um. . ." Kyou looked for something else to say, anything to distract them from the even more awkward air that now hung between them. Finally, an idea came to her.

"Uh, later today some of my friends are getting together to throw a party for me and my sister Ryou, since it is our birthday and all. How about you join us?" she asked.

"As long as it would not be an imposition, I would be honored to join you," said Kale, bowing slightly.

* * *

The rest of the day passed without much other event, although Kyou's students did give her an enthusiastic round of "Happy Birthdays," when they walked in the door.

When Kale and Kyou met for lunch, their conversation was somewhat more subdued then most of their other ones, as awkwardness still tinged the air between them, although it wasn't as bad as it had been that morning. Kyou filled Kale in on her friends and informed him that they were all coming to pick them up from school after work.

When the school day came to an end, Kale found Kyou just outside the front of the school, bidding her students farewell as they left with their parents. Most of them were already gone, except for one little girl in particular.

Ushio stood with Kyou, waiting for her own parents to arrive. When she saw Kale approaching, she waved. "Hi, San-san!"

Kale's face broke out into a smile as he walked over to them. "Hello Ushio-chan," he greeted warmly, "And hello to you too, Kyou."

"Hey Kale," replied the kindergarten teacher.

"So, where are these friends of yours?"

"Right on time!" Kyou replied, pointing down the street.

Kale followed her finger and saw a small group of people walking down the sidewalk, having just turned the corner. While most were not familiar to Kale, Kyou recognized everyone in the group, waving at them all merrily with an arm stretched long over her head. "Hey!"

Ushio immediately ran to greet them. "Mama! Papa!" she called out happily.

Kale recognized Ushio's mother, Nagisa. The man who bent down and scooped Ushio up, Kale obviously assumed was her father.

"Hey, everyone!" Kyou called out to the group once they were closer. Everyone returned the greeting, along with happy birthday wishes.

"Hey, who's that Kyou?" asked the man Kale assumed to be Ushio's father.

"This is my friend Kale Saunders, he works as our janitor at here at the preschool," replied Kyou, then looking to Kale, "Kale, these are my friends."

Next, she clapped her hands sharply, gaining everyone's attention, "Now, everyone go ahead and be so kind as to introduce yourselves."

"Hey, I'm Tomoya Okazaki, Ushio's father," greeted Tomoya, giving a nod instead of a bow since he still held Ushio in his arms.

"A pleasure to meet you," replied Kale.

"I believe we've already met Saunders-san," said Ryou as she stepped forward, smiling brightly.

"Indeed we have. It is good to see you again, Fujibayashi-san" said Kale in response, giving a bow to her as well.

"And I you," Ryou returned the bow.

"We have met before too, right?" asked Nagisa.

"Yes we did," said Kale. "As I said to Fujibayashi-san, it is a pleasure to meet you again."

"Alright, enough with that!" suddenly exclaimed Kyou. Everyone stopped and looked to her, wondering exactly as to what she wished to stop.

The purple-haired young woman began to explain. "If we go through introductions one at a time like this, we'll be here all night!" she growled. "Let me speed things up. Kale that is Tomoyo Sakagami, Kotomi Ichinose, and Youhei Sunohara," Kyou named them off quickly, pointing to a silver haired woman, a dark purple haired woman, and to a short black haired man each in turn. Then Kyou started in surprise and without allowing Kale to even finish greeting them, said, "Wait . . . what are you doing here Kotomi? Weren't you studying abroad in America?"

"I was, but, since I had a lull in my studies, I decided to come back home for a bit. I still plan on coming back for New Year's, but I just couldn't wait to see everyone again."

"Are you just going to ignore me!" yelled Sunohara to Kyou. "I came from out of town too!"

"Yes, yes I know. . ." Kyou feigned annoyance. Then she stopped teasing him and smiled appreciatively to the energy-filled Sunohara. "Thanks for coming."

"It's good to see everyone again," said Tomoyo with a wide smile.

"Yes, it feels so nice when we're all together like this," Nagisa concluded.

"Though we have an addition to the group," pointed out Sunohara as he draped an arm across Kale's shoulders. "So are you some sort of foreigner or something?" he inspected his face closely.

Kale leaned backwards some, trying to increase the small distance that the scrutinizing Sunohara had initially put between their faces. "I suppose so; I'm originally from America."

"Now now, that's not important," growled Kyou as she planted her palm in Sunohara's face and pushed him forcibly away from Kale, she noticing how uncomfortable he was getting with Sunohara. She certainly couldn't blame him; Sunohara didn't have the most tactful personality and was sometimes abrasive with others.

Sunohara almost tripped over his feet as he was pushed backwards. "Hey!" he rounded on Kyou, "I was just trying to get to know him better! Why'd you need to be so rough?"

"Yeah, Kyou's right," said Tomoyo, ignoring Sunohara's outburst. "After all, we're here to celebrate the birthday of two of our dearest friends."

"That's true," replied Sunohara, quickly forgetting his anger. "And we all know what celebrating means! PARTY!"

Everyone cheered happily in agreement. With the introductions finally out of the way, the group left to their destination, happy chatter buzzing among them.

They went out to eat a nice restaurant, and then rented a karaoke box- Sunohara's treat –exchanged presents and ate cake until they all just about exploded.

But Kyou wasn't really concerned with all of the details. All she knew, was that that night was one of the most fun she'd ever had, made even more so due to the including of her new friend. Kyou would look back fondly on that day for a long time to come.


	6. Chapter 5: Sharing a Burden

a/n:Well here it is finally, chapter 5 of the story. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so freakin long. X_X Anyways, enjoy.

Chapter 5: Sharing a Burden

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Kyou's eyes cracked open upon hearing the sound that so dared to intrude upon her precious sleep. Sitting up, she stayed silent for a moment, merely waiting and listening to determine whether or not she had actually heard something. Giving off a wide yawn, she heard nothing more and figured she must have dreamt up the noise.

Looking over at her alarm clock, she saw that it was about a full hour before she normally got up. She laid back down with a groan, hoping that she could fall back asleep quickly.

After but a few moments, a happy sigh escaped her lips, as the pleasant embrace of sleep started to envelop her back into it's warm arms.

Then, the sharp, unmerciful sound of knocking came once again.

Eyes bolting open this time; she sat up, her sleepy gaze able to possibly be interpreted as a glare. Whoever was at the door had better have a dang good reason for disturbing her at this hour.

Groaning as she stood up, she slowly stumbled towards the door of her apartment. Her coordination was still absent in these sleepy morning hours, so it wasn't much of a surprise when she tripped over nothing and fell flat on her face.

Kyou cursed under her breath as she rubbed her sore nose. Taking her hand away, she didn't see any blood, indicating she had not obtained a bloody nose. This small consolation did little to abate her foul mood. Standing herself up, she made her way to the door, more aware of her coordination this time.

Opening the door, she was greeted with the sight of a young woman bearing long gray hair. The young woman was instantly recognized as one whom Kyou knew as Tomoyo Sakagami. The visitor bowed slightly, speaking when she straightened back up. "Good morning, Fujibayashi."

Kyou had many retorts and quick jabs that she wanted so badly to deliver, very displeased with such an early visit. Again though, sleep proved to be a stumbling block for her. All that came out of her mouth were incomprehensible mumbles.

"I'm sorry for coming so early but I wanted to talk with you before you had to go to work." Kyou tried to glare in response to Tomoyo but just as her retorts were incomprehensible mumbles; her attempted glare was the distant gaze of someone still half asleep.

For a few moments, neither of them moved. Tomoyo waited patiently and Kyou simply stood there, sleepily gazing at back her. Eventually, she was able to wake herself up enough to mumble a, "Come on in."

Tomoyo complied while Kyou quickly went into the main room and put away the futon she had been sleeping in a few moments ago.

Kyou stepped into the kitchen area, looking behind her to where the main room was. Since there was no wall separating the two areas, only the difference in floors and kitchen appliances to designate the difference between the two, she was able to see that Tomoyo had sat down at the small table that Kyou had put out once she'd put her futon away.

"Want some breakfast?"

"Yes please," replied Tomoyo.

She nodded and turned her full attention to the kitchen area. She began preparing breakfast for the two of them, not bothering to ask on any of Tomoyo's preferences. If she didn't like it, well, tough cookies. She came early and interrupted her sleep, she was lucky she was getting any breakfast at all.

As usual, Kyou prepared a bento lunch while she prepared her breakfast. Finished with both meals in a timely manner, it wasn't long before she too was sitting down at the small table, eating breakfast along with Tomoyo.

Neither of them had taken more than a few bites before Kyou spoke up, "So what are you doing here anyways?" she bluntly asked.

"I came here to talk to you about something. I know that I had a chance a few days ago to talk to you, but I didn't want to disturb you with business talk on your birthday," Tomoya answered, not perturbed at all by her blunt tone of voice.

Kyou nodded slightly in agreement and understanding. But, there was one thing about what Tomoyo said that the kindergarten teacher didn't understand.

"What do you mean business talk?" She couldn't think of any sort of business the two of them might have, it wasn't like Tomoyo had any children or younger siblings that would be enrolling into kindergarten.

"I intend to become a kindergarten teacher, much like yourself."

Kyou somewhat admired at how blunt she was, no hesitation or such, though she was still a bit confused. "Um . . . well that's nice, but what does that have to do with me?"

"The thing is that I've been studying and going to school so I can be one, however it's somewhat tough getting a job nowadays, as you probably know." Kyou nodded, thinking back to the time when she was searching for a job. Those days had been tough, she was lucky to have found the one she did. "Well, I figured that if I were to obtain some work experience then that would make it easier to find a job. The reason why I am coming to you is that I wanted to request for your permission to be your assistant, an assistant teacher if you will."

"Wait, what!" exclaimed Kyou, "Where did you ever get an idea like that?"

"I told you why," replied Tomoyo, looking confused somewhat. "Did I not explain clearly enough? It is so I can have work experience as a kindergarten teacher."

"Well yeah, I know that." Rubbing the bridge of her nose with her fingers she sighed. "But why me?"

"Who else would I go to for such a request?" Although her question was not said in a demeaning tone of voice, it was not said in a submissive way either.

Kyou couldn't tell if she should get mad or not, but she did have to admit that Tomoyo was right. Out of all their friends no one else was a kindergarten teacher.

"I don't know if it is acceptable to the Headmaster, though." While she was mostly saying this to get out of it, she was also speaking the truth. She had no clue if it was normal at all, or if it was even acceptable. Even though she'd been a teacher for a bit now, she was still unsure of some of the intricacies of the school bureaucracy procedures.

"I have already spoken with the Headmaster of the school," calmly informed Tomoyo. She took a sip of some tea that Kyou had poured for her earlier. After putting the cup down she then continued to speak. "He said that although it is a somewhat unusual request he would be alright with it under one condition."

"And what condition is that?"

"That if it's alright with you as well, since you would be the one I am assisting." As always Tomoyo was quick to get right to the point, no hesitation at all. Kyou couldn't help but sigh as she thought the situation over in her mind. She couldn't just say no, to turn away someone in need, especially someone she knew, would be utterly despicable. It was sure to be a pain in the neck though, having her come and be an assistant. The purple haired young woman had a certain way of doing things, a rhythm she followed. To have an assistant thrust upon her so unexpectedly would make adjusting difficult. But as Kyou had thought to herself she couldn't turn Tomoyo away, so the answer was pretty much decided.

"Yeah I suppose it is alright with me . . ." she grumbled, her annoyance to the situation quite clear in her voice. It was still rather early in the day for to have sense to practice what tact she normally had. Despite this, Tomoyo bowed deeply to her in gratitude. "Thank you very much Fujibayashi-san," she said humbly.

Kyou's heart twanged a little bit due to guilt. Here she was acting all annoyed and everything at a little disruption in her usual routine and then here, Tomoyo was expressing such gratitude.

"D-don't worry about it." After taking a quick look at her alarm clock she then said, "How about we leave for school now? That way I can show you around before classes begin."

"That sounds like a good idea," replied Tomoyo. "I'll wait for you outside while you get ready, if that's alright." Kyou nodded in response to which the gray-haired young woman stood up and left the apartment. Seeing the door shut Kyou then began to get ready. Not much was needed to be done, so in a short amount of time she was outside, dressed, hair in a ponytail, and carrying the necessary items for the day in her bag. She looked and saw Tomoyo patiently standing a little distance away from the door. She merely motioned for her to follow as Kyou walked past her, and then walked by the area where Botan was normally kept.

"Come on Botan, time to get going," she called out. A loud, "Gof! Gof!" rumbled out from the walled area and the boar walked towards the entrance.

"How did you ever find a place for such a large animal?" asked Tomoyo.

"I didn't find this place for quite a while actually," answered Kyou. "I only found it with the help of my parents and Ryou. My parents happened to know the manager of this building and apparently the little yard area was never used by anyone. So he had no problem with me keeping Botan there."

"Ah, I see."

The both of them looked again to the walled area and saw that Botan had closed the distance between them. She seemed to be a little bit unstable, weaving ever so slightly as she tried to stand still.

"Heh, still half asleep are you Botan?" chuckled Kyou as she squatted down, scratching her precious pet under her chin. Botan sleepily gave a soft grunt, answering Kyou's inquiry.

Still chuckling some as she stood back up, Kyou then said to both Botan and Tomoyo, "Come on, let's go." The boar and the gray-haired girl complied, matching their pace with Kyou's as they began to walk down the road towards the school. No conversation or such came up at first, Kyou blaming the early morning hours for that. However, she would not put up with the silence for long.

"Hey Tomoyo," Kyou decided to drop the name suffixes. She never really used them much and she and Tomoyo had known of each other for a long time anyways. Plus in her mind _Tomoyo-chan_ just didn't go well together. Even thinking of it sent uncomfortable shivers up her spine.

"Yes?" she replied, completely unperturbed by the lack of honorifics.

"Why did you decide to become a kindergarten teacher anyways?" she bluntly asked. "You always seemed to be destined for a role of great leadership. You were a great Student Council President and everyone in the school was sure you'd go on to politics or something. So, why be a kindergarten teacher?"

"Well, I only joined the Student Council for a personal reason, though others also shared my desire."

"Oh yeah," Kyou pondered, thinking back. "It was to save the Cherry Trees wasn't it?" She remembered that Tomoyo had organized a movement to save the Cherry Trees which were scheduled to be cut down. Looking back now, she realized that Tomoyo had much zeal in her pursuit of that goal. Out of respect though, she decided not to inquire as to what her personal reason was.

"That's right. Once I completed that goal I held no more desire to be Student Council President, although I had to complete the responsibilities I had taken on, regardless of whether I wanted them or not."

"Well that's nice but it doesn't answer my question," huffed Kyou. "Why did you decide to be a kindergarten teacher?"

"Well . . ." Tomoyo hesitated, her voice slightly wavering. For some reason she seemed to be embarrassed about the reason. This actually surprised Kyou some, she could not recall a time she had ever seen her flustered, even the tiniest bit.

"The thing is, I think the trust parents have in teachers is astounding. Not just trust for their physical safety, but for their mental well-being as well. At such a young impressionable age, kindergarten teachers have the chance to make a great difference in the world, through their students and the foundation they help to build in their young lives. I want to be such a person, to make such a difference."

Passionate was the best word Kyou could come up with for what Tomoyo had just said. The burning fire within her shone through her blue eyes and was laced in her words.

Kyou couldn't suppress the slight chuckle that bubbled up inside her.

"What's so funny?" quickly asked Tomoyo. Although no anger was heard in her voice, she was pretty sure Tomoyo thought she'd found what she said funny and took offense to it.

"Please . . . don't think I'm making fun of you," said Kyou, choking back the rest of her laughter. "I just find it interesting; your reason for wanting to be a kindergarten teacher is almost the same exact one as mine. In fact I told someone that just a few weeks ago."

"Interesting . . ." said Tomoyo, head tilting down for a moment as she thought. "We seem to be quite alike. More than we know."

"Appears so," Kyou said, yawning slightly. "Make you wonder why we weren't closer friends in high school."

"My guess is that it was Tomoya that prevented such."

Confused, the purple-haired young woman looked over at her, with a curiously raised eyebrow, "What do you mean? He didn't oppose our friendship or anything like that."

"I did not mean that he himself interfered with any possible friendship we may have had," said Tomoyo, shaking her head. "Our feelings of him are what set us apart. I was interested in him and so were you, making us rivals."

Kyou blushed furiously. "Wha- Where did you get an idea like that? I don't like him!"

"You did back then though, before he was dating Nagisa, right?"

Silence hung over them, Tomoyo waiting for a response, and Kyou too embarrassed to say anything at the moment.

"Yeah, I suppose so . . ." she finally mumbled. "Although it's not like I still like him or anything."

"Of course not," calmly said Tomoyo, despite the conversation subject. "I'm merely trying to figure out why we weren't better friends in high school."

With those words said, silence again accompanied them. Kyou had become too flustered to think of anymore small talk, and for a time it seemed the silence would stay for the rest of their walk to school.

However, Tomoyo soon broke the silence. "That person you talked with about being a teacher, who was it?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Kyou looked over at her. "Oh, it was the janitor at our school, Kale Saunders. He actually came with us for me and Ryou's birthday party, remember?"

"Oh yes, I remember now," nodded Tomoyo. "He's a foreigner, right?"

"Yeah, although he speaks quite fluently and loves it here in Japan."

"Really? I got the impression that he didn't like it," Tomoyo mused. "He seemed . . . lonely somehow."

"You know . . . now that you mention it; I've never seen him go out with any other friends or anything like that, really. I wonder if he doesn't have that many friends," Kyou pondered. "You know a while back, when I was going to school, I passed by his apartment. I saw him trying to be all polite to some woman I assumed was his neighbor and she was incredibly rude to him," she told Tomoyo with a bad taste in her mouth.

"Maybe she's just a cranky person," Tomoyo tried to explain.

"No . . . I don't think that's it," denied Kyou, "I talked to her immediately after Kale left and she was really nice and sweet to me. That is, until I mentioned Kale, and then, like the flip of a coin, she was incredibly rude again."

"Is it possible that Kale is not such a good person after all?" questioned the gray-haired woman. "Could it be possible that he is hiding something that she happened to find out? Something that's quite repulsive to illicit such a rude attitude from an otherwise kind lady?"

"Kale?" Kyou said incredulously, balking at the thought. "No, it couldn't be. He's one of the nicest people I've ever known." All those times they had lunch together, seeing each other in the morning, surely she would have caught a glimpse of whatever supposed darkness lurked in his heart. But, then again . . . she had only known him for just a little less than a month. Was it possible that he could be hiding something after all?

Kyou strongly shook her head, trying to eject any such nasty thoughts from her mind. A tiny speck of worry and doubt though continued to cling onto her. Even through her tiredness Botan realized that her master was concerned about something. Whenever her beloved master was worried Botan too, grew worried. A soft, "Gof, Gof," emanated from the boar, she trying to reassure Kyou.

She looked to her pet and smiled. Stopping for a moment she scratched the top of her head. "Don't worry Botan," she comforted. Botan's concern was not fully laid to rest but it was reduced some. If she could still smile like that then she was fine.

Kyou's smile did fade for a moment however as she looked at Tomoyo. "He isn't a bad person you know. It could just be that the woman was racist."

"Whatever you say," shrugged Tomoyo. She grew silent, saying nothing more on the matter and simply continued walking. Kyou huffed and continued on as well.

Kale really wasn't a bad person . . . was he? She shook her head again. Why did those thoughts keep returning? A sigh escaped the kindergarten teacher's lips. Today was probably going to be a long day.

The slight confrontation the two girls had had, now made conversation awkward, the oppressive mood even quieting any noises that may have come from Botan.

Regardless of the absence of attention-occupying conversation, it felt like it took very little time before they reached the school. Kyou looked around and saw no sign of Kale. She had arrived quite early so maybe he wasn't here yet. Though, it really didn't matter all that much.

She began to show Tomoyo around the school, after making sure Botan got to her little shelter on the school grounds so she could rest some more before the day began. The problem with showing Tomoyo around though, was that it was only a school; and a small kindergarten one at that, so in truth, there really wasn't all that much to show. Thus, it was not long before they ended up Kyou's classroom.

After giving her a quick rundown of what the average school day was like, Kyou prepared what few things she could for the days studies and activities. But, since they had come early, she wound up with some time on her hands. She eventually ended up sitting in a chair and leaning against the wall, while Tomoyo gazed out the large classroom windows.

The time trickled on slowly like molasses trying to go uphill. Kyou even felt herself starting to nod off, her eyes occasionally closing wearily before snapping back open again. It was when her eyes had begun to close yet again that Tomoyo suddenly spoke, making Kyou nearly fall out of her chair as she snapped fully awake.

"Hey, do you know if Kale has any medical conditions that he would have to take medicine for?" she asked, gaze not turning away from the window.

"Huh? Um . . . I don't think so. Why?" Puzzlement struck the kindergarten teacher; her question was a rather unexpected one. How could she have possibly come up something like that?

"So he would have no need to take prescription medicine then, right?" Tomoyo asked, still looking out the window, her gaze sharp and focused.

"No, he wouldn't," grunted Kyou as she got up from her chair and moved over to the window. "Why are you asking all these questions?" she stood beside Tomoyo.

Not saying a word, she merely pointed her finger to something outside in response. Following her finger, she saw Kale was outside, still dressed in casual clothes which made her guess that he'd just barely arrived. He was standing at the water fountain, facing away from the classroom. The two young women watched him take out a prescription medicine bottle and place it on the water fountain next to another one. After looking around, as if checking to see if anyone was watching him, Kale unscrewed one of the bottles and swallowed one of the little pills.

"Could that be why that neighbor of his didn't like him? Because he has a drug addiction and she found out about it?" asked Tomoyo.

"Drug addiction?" exclaimed Kyou, "Kale? There is no way that's possible," she said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest in a confident manner.

"You said so yourself though that there is no reason to take prescription medicine if he has no preexisting condition that would require it," she sharply reminded Kyou.

"But . . . a drug addiction?" There was no way it could be true. Kale was not that type of person, she didn't think so anyways. "Maybe he has some type of condition, one we aren't aware of."

"Possibly," Tomoyo mused. "However you must admit that it is a possibility that it could be the uglier scenario." At first, Kyou couldn't deny it. She hadn't known Kale for terribly long so he could possibly be hiding such secrets. However in her mind it was like her name and the honorary -chan suffix, it just didn't go together.

"I don't want to believe it though."

"Then why don't you go find out?"

"I shouldn't, it's his private life." Kyou could hardly believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. She was normally such a curious person, wanting to find out things and sometimes doing so with a little less tact then some normally practiced.

"If he has a drug addiction then it needs to be found out," said Tomoyo, finally turning her gaze away from the window and switching it to Kyou. "Such a thing should not be permitted, especially in an environment like this."

Yet again Kyou wanted to express her denial of such, but she couldn't. Tomoyo was absolutely right; this was a kindergarten, a place full of children at a highly impressionable age. It was her duty as their teacher to protect them from ugly influences, regardless of her own feelings.

A sigh escaped her as she turned to leave. "You're right . . ." she mumbled. "I hate to do this though." She walked silently out of the room and towards a possible truth she didn't want to know.

* * *

Kyou sighed again as she opened the door. It didn't take her more than a few seconds before she spotted Kale. As she began to walk towards him, she saw that he had spilled something on the ground. Small white pills dotted the ground around his feet, their numbers being reduced as Kale carefully picked up each one, brushing it off, and then putting it back into one of the bottles. Like he had been with his artwork, Kale was so absorbed with the retrieval of the pills that he didn't seem to notice the approaching footsteps. Now but a few yards away Kyou decided to speak.

"What are you doing Kale?" she asked, more in a curious tone rather than accusatory.

The janitor nearly jumped out of his skin, falling backwards onto his rear end in surprise.

"K-Kyou?" he stammered. "I didn't even notice you there." His pace in picking up the pills greatly increased, not even bothering to brush them off before sticking the pills back in the bottle.

"Here, let me help you with that," she offered, beginning to kneel down.

"No that's alright!" he quickly exclaimed.

Accepting his denial, she stood up straight, but her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She hated herself for it but she had begun to think more and more of Tomoyo's theory and how it began to seem more and more possible.

"Kale . . . is there some condition or something you have that I should know about?" Coldness tainted her voice, much to her own surprise. Even Kale seemed to be startled by it, stopping momentarily in his retrieval of the spilled pills.

"No I don't," he simply replied.

"Then why do you have prescription medicine?" Kyou knew that it was prescription medicine and not just some regular headache medicine. She recognized his bottles, her sister was a nurse after all, and she had seen plenty of those bottles in the past recent years. Plus, she didn't know of any sort of container that had that same type of transparent orange-yellow plastic. "You aren't some sort of drug addict are you?"

"What?" exclaimed Kale, utterly flabbergasted by such an accusation. "What would make you think that?"

"You said yourself that you have no condition, so there's no reason why you should be taking prescription medicine. No _good_ reason, that is," she growled. For a moment her head lowered, a tinge of sadness fluttering across her face. "I don't want to pry into such matters . . ." But the sadness was then pushed aside, her eyes furrowing into a glare. "But I have a duty as a teacher to protect my students. If you have some sort of drug addiction, it would serve as a bad influence to such young and impressionable children, and that is something I cannot allow."

Kale looked up at her, then down at the pills in his hand. He sighed and put the pills in the bottle, closing the lid since no more were on the ground. Standing up to an upright position he looked her right in the eye. "Alright, I'll tell you the truth. Do you mind if we sit down though?" He motioned to a bench a little ways from them.

Kyou simply stared at him, saying nothing but giving him a nod. Kale calmly walked over to the bench and sat down, clutching the medicine bottles in his left hand. Following him, she sat down as well, although on the opposite end of the bench.

"The thing is I want you to promise not to tell anyone else," he finally said after what felt like eternal silence.

"I can't promise that, not if it is something like an addiction," huffed Kyou. "I'd have to tell the Headmaster."

"That is true, yes," admitted Kale. "It isn't an addiction though. It's something . . . well embarrassing. Although I wish the world wasn't like how it is, making something like _this _embarrassing. Promise me though, that you won't tell anyone, please?"

Kyou stared into Kale's eyes as she thought about it. A great desperation seemed to be swirling about within his eyes, so great that it somewhat stunned her. What was it that he was hiding? Eventually she nodded her agreement to the request. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. Well . . . now, where to begin . . . oh, your sister is a nurse isn't she?"

"Yeah."

"So do you know of some medicine and what they are used for?"

She nodded her head solemnly.

"Well then . . . here." Kale put forward his left hand, fingers uncurled and the bottles resting in the palm of his hand. Kyou took the offer and picked up the bottles. She looked at the names of the medicine, reading them softly to herself. She did indeed recognize the names of the two medicines, also instantly remembering their usage. When she looked up at Kale her suspicious and stern gaze had completely melted away. She was instead adorned with a look of surprise. Silently she handed the two bottles back to him.

"Are they for what I think they're for?" she asked quietly. While she was familiar with the medicine and its intended use she wanted to make absolutely sure.

"Yep," Kale sighed, "I have both Chemical Depression and ADHD."

"Chemical Depression?" Kyou was somewhat confused by the phrase. "I understand what depression itself is, but what does the chemical part mean?"

"It means there is a chemical imbalance within the brain that makes me moody at times, usually depressed," explained Kale. "Although the depression medicine can be used for Clinical Depression, depression of psychological origin, it also helps balance the chemicals in the brain so I'm not moody." Kyou looked down at the ground as she took the information in. She herself didn't, at least before now that is, know anyone with a mental disorder so she was somewhat unfamiliar with the details of it. Questions burned in her mind but fear also kept her in check, fear of saying something offensive to Kale. The questions though were too great in her mind to leave unasked though.

"So . . . that means that it's more of a physical ailment, it not like you are . . . um . . . crazy in the head?" She mentally slapped herself, the words she had spoken had not come out as delicate as she had desired. He didn't look offended though. In fact he gave a soft chuckle. "No, I'm not crazy," he laughed. "You are right, it is more of a physical ailment, both disorders are. Each is caused by something in the brain, an imbalance or such. It's like someone being born blind or deaf. It's just how they were born, nothing more . . . although it feels like not many people see it that way."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember Nakamura-san, the neighbor that was rude to me?" inquired Kale.

"Yeah," answered Kyou.

"Well when I first met her she was a nice lady. It was almost as if she didn't have a mean bone in her body," said the janitor. "But she somehow, I can't remember exactly how, found out about my disorders. When she did, she changed completely. She tried to avoid me, at most times ignoring me and at other times insulting me. And she isn't the only one like that."

"I mean, how often have you heard of mental disorders, and if so in an understanding way?" Thinking for a moment she realized that not much, if at all, had she heard such discussions. "I can't really think of any," she finally said.

"Do you know why?" he asked. She tried to think of an answer but nothing came to mind. So she was forced to shake her head. "The reason is because there is a stigma here in Japan, a mark of shame, upon those who carry such disorders. It's nowhere near as bad as it was before but it's still present today, a fear and misunderstanding of mental disorders. It's almost as if there is a curtain that separates and hides the "mentally-ill" from normal society."

"Please don't assume that I think Japan is a terrible place," Kale quickly added. "It's just that there are ways it can improve. And it is improving, slowly but surely. Some are becoming more aware of the truths of mental disorder. But many also still hold that fear of that which they do not fully understand. What they don't realize is that those with mental disorders are just normal people, not some abnormal creature."

As Kale looked straight into Kyou's eyes she saw a sadness welling up within him. He almost seemed ready to cry. "I was afraid to tell you this because I value our friendship very much. You are perhaps one of, if not the only, friend I have. That's why I was so afraid. I didn't want to be alone again . . ." He looked away and looked at the ground, his face quite somber. His next few words were just barely above a whisper. "I'll understand if you don't want to be friends with someone like me."

Kyou said nothing, quickly standing up from her seated position. His head, previously bowed, looked up at her in surprise.

She turned to him and took in his sad and lonely figure. She did not hug him nor offer any words of comfort. Instead, she strongly and promptly brought a knuckled fist down on top of his head.

"Idiot!" she bellowed. "What do you mean, "someone like me"? You said it yourself, you're just another person. Why wouldn't I want to be your friend anymore just cause of something like this!"

Kale was clutching his head with both hands, looking up at Kyou. "But what about my mental disorders?" he asked. The initial response to this was another punch to the top of the head. This time, he was knocked off the bench and sprawled onto the ground.

"You idiot!" she exclaimed yet again. "You are so caught up on this! Don't you realize that people with even half a brain would want to be friends with you? You are possibly one of the nicest people I've ever known!"

"Really?" The wonder and amazement in his voice at her compliment made Kyou stop and realize just exactly what she had said.

Her face blushed furiously. "Y-yeah," she stammered. "So don't think so badly of yourself anymore, got it?" She shoved her hand towards him, offering it as an aid in getting off the ground. Kale for a moment did nothing but stare up at Kyou and her outstretched hand.

A smile spread across his face as finally he took her hand. "Got it," he nodded.

"Good," she huffed. "We are friends, don't ever forget that."

"I won't," replied Kale. Both of them smiled as they looked at each other. Then they both looked down, realizing they had not let go of each others' hands. They both quickly let go, each of them greatly blushing.

"W-well um . . . thanks Kyou."

"D-don't mention it," she said, her voice also unsteady. "W-well I better get going. I've got stuff I need to do."

"Yeah . . . me too," quietly said Kale. "I'll see you later, lunch again today?"

"Of course! Later."

"Later," muttered the young man. Kyou turned and walked briskly back into the building. As she did she brought a hand to her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart. It wasn't anything special, she told herself. She was just high-strung from the heavy conversation. Giving her head a few shakes Kyou set her mind and set it in gear for the day and whatever else it may hold for her.

* * *

a/n: I hope this chapter was all to your liking. Reviews and such are very much appreciated.


	7. Chapter 6: The Impossible Emotion

A/n: Alright, I apologize for this taking so long. I don't have much of an excuse for it. Granted I do have a job now and such but it is no excuse. I apologize what few readers I have. Anyways, my Beta/editor is currently in school, and so I will be for the forseeable future uploading my chapters with only me looking over them and editing them. When/if my Beta/Editor gets the time she will look over them and I will then replace the chapter with its edited version. Most differences should be minimal or not that important, as the overall plot has already been discussed. However due to this the quality as you may have deduced may not be as great. I will try to do my best but I can only do so much. Also, in this chapter, there is technically a spoiler for people who play or have played parts of the visual novel version of Clannad concerning the character Kappei. You have been warned.

Chapter 6: The Impossible Emotion

"Thanks again for your help." said Kyou as she began to walk through the door that connected her class to the rest of the building. She was giving a thankful wave to a short black haired woman that sat where Kyou normally did.

"Its my pleasure to be of assistance." said the woman. Simply giving a nod Kyou stepped the rest of the way through the doorway and then slid the door shut. She then began to walk down the hall, gaze flickering about as she looked around.

That morning was still fresh on her mind as if it had happened mere seconds ago. This was thanks to the fact that Kale's secret and reason for taking medicine was so surprising. Kyou though also remembered that they had agreed to have lunch again today, as was their routine. A general feeling of awkwardness was present, that she had to admit. She knew that she would and should still act as she normally had around Kale, but the dread of acting too sensitive or not sensitive enough about the subject nagged at her from the back of her mind. Perhaps he felt the same way also?

Kyou dismissed that thought from her mind. Even if he did feel awkward as she did he wouldn't break a promise, no matter how small it was. So what was keeping him for so long? It was at least fifteen minutes into the lunch break and he hadn't shown up at all. Eventually curiosity and a tint of worry had driven Kyou to ask a substitute teacher who had come to school to pick up a coat she had left to watch her class as she went out for a little to look for Kale.

Not many doors had been looked through or rooms searched before she had found her target. She saw in the faculty break room some of the usual people but those she was not concerned with. Instead her sights were set upon Kale from what she could tell at first glance was sitting in a chair. Her hand which had begun to reach to open the door suddenly stopped. Those few brief moments in which her eyes had continued to gaze through the small window of the door had allowed her to realize that Kale was conversing with Tomoyo. The two had not yet been introduced by her so why would they be talking. Kyou then saw Tomoyo holding some packaged bread in her hands while Kale held some container that most likely contained his own lunch. They were going to have lunch together? No it couldn't be, Kale had promised to have lunch together with her, not Tomoyo.

Tomoyo seemed rather calm, like she usually was, had they met and were now introducing themselves to one another? Kyou began to think that but saw Tomoyo sit down, unwrapping her bread and beginning to munch on it. She couldn't see Kale's face as he turned completely away from the door as he sat down opposite of Tomoyo. Sitting down though with someone was eating meant that he would be eating too quite soon probably. So they were having lunch together! He had promised though, how could he go eat lunch with someone else when they already had plans?

A storm of anger instantly intruded upon Kyou's mind. Forcing herself to turn away from the door she then proceed to stomp down the hallway back to her classroom. When she was back her dismissal of the one who helped her was rather terse. The woman, although not visibly offended was surprised at the complete change in Kyou's mood. It was as if stepping through the door had made the her don another mask of emotion. This woman's sense of self-preservation was stronger then her curiosity and so she was quickly out of the room. Giving a angered huff Kyou sat on the floor, legs crossed and Bento lunch in her lap. It remained unopened, spared due to the fact that its owner was sitting there, staring as anger flared in her mind.

The truth in what Kale had talked about that morning was almost palpable at the time, so Kyou knew that he hadn't been lying about his burden, so why wasn't he in here and instead eating lunch with Tomoyo whom he barely even knew; especially when he had already promised to have lunch with her? Why, dang it, why!

For what seemed like forever Kyou's mind went around in circles, very much like a rabid dog chasing its own tail. Questions of why she saw what she saw and denials of it, saying there must be some reason, this was her circular and seemingly endless thought process. What was certain though was that she was angry, even her students could see that. Fear was not coming upon their little hearts though. They knew Kyou's personality and how although she was normally calm that it was more volatile then the average person. Staying out of her way at such times was second instinct to the youngsters.

The door to the room slid open, able to draw the attention of Kyou away from her angry mumbling. Her face softened for a moment in surprise when she saw that it was Kale, lunch in hand and seemingly untouched. It was momentary though and Kyou's scowl quickly returned. Not a single greeting parted from Kyou's lips as she turned her attention away from Kale. He stood there for a moment puzzled by her actions until realization flashed across his face. After walking over to her, lunch still in hand he bowed deeply.

"I apologize for being so late Kyou." he said. Kyou simply gave him another scathing look in response then turned away yet again. Puzzlement again came upon Kale's face and this time it was not so quick to go away. "Did...did our talk this morning actually upset you?" His voice was barely above a whisper, careful to not pique the children's curiosity as to what he was talking about. He didn't want to tell everyone about his burdens.

"I don't care about that." said Kyou, her countenance softening briefly. Even in her anger she so very wanted to make sure that Kale didn't think she was repulsed by his disorders. "Just... why did you go have lunch with someone else when we agreed to have lunch together today?" Her frustrations as it rose began to poison her voice.

"Huh?" replied Kale. "What are you talking about? I'm here with my lunch aren't I?" He truly did seem confused by the accusation from Kyou. One seeing the surprise and the still seemingly intact lunch in hand would probably assume that Kale didn't have lunch with Tomoyo, except the problem was that anger and logical thinking don't often go hand-in-hand. There certainly wasn't a shortage of anger and frustration in Kyou so such logical thinking about the lunch almost seemed to flee frantically from her.

"I saw you with my new assistant, Tomoyo." she growled. "Why don't you just go finish your lunch with her?"

"So she is your assistant?" said Kale in momentary surprise. He quickly shook his head though to clear away the surprise. "That doesn't matter though, I wasn't having lunch with her, she had something important to talk about."

"Oh really?" It was clear by the tone of Kyou's voice that she didn't believe that.

"Really." came the reply. The voice that gave the reply though was feminine and therefore obviously did not belong to Kale. Kyou actually did recognize it instantly as Tomoyo's voice. It however had been unexpected, to both sides of the pair, both of them giving a little jerk in surprise. They turned and saw Tomoyo standing just a little bit away from them.

"Don't scare people like that." gasped Kyou. Kale nodded his agreement to the statement.

"I apologize but I did not intentionally sneak up on either of you." simply said Tomoyo, completely unperturbed by the accusatory tone of her voice. "All I did was open the door and come in to see if we could all have lunch together"

"But I already saw you having lunch with Kale." The accusation continued to seem less and less plausible, but she didn't want to admit that she had made such a stupid mistake. Surely what she thought she saw was what she really saw.

"I'm not sure what it was that you observed," started Tomoyo. "But I never had a meal with him. I had merely taken him aside to make sure that what we saw this morning was in fact alright as you said."

"But I said everything was alright didn't I?" barked Kyou. "You must remember that I also told you I couldn't say anything else." As the words tumbled from her mouth she couldn't help but think back to that morning. After she had confronted Kale about the pills and learned of their reason she had gone back to the classroom. She did not, however, tell Tomoyo what she and Kale had talked about. Kyou knew that Kale was reluctant to tell people of his condition so when Tomoyo confronted her about what happened she merely said 'Everything is alright. That is all I can say.'

"It is true that you said that." said Tomoyo. "I thought however that your opinion might have been biased."

"Biased? What do you mean?" asked Kyou.

"I've seen it happen before, people will often overlook or rationalize negative behaviors that their lover has." calmly said the gray haired woman. Kyou's face instantly blushed a brilliant red as she realized what Tomoyo meant. She was stunned into silence for a moment, which allowed Tomoyo to also say "That is why I had to make sure that everything was indeed alright."

"Are you saying that I overlooked something 'bad' because he is m-my boyfriend!" exclaimed Kyou.

"That is correct." The volume of Tomoyo's voice had been constant, never fluctuating in volume at all, unlike Kyou who's voice rose and fell like a buoy on a stormy sea. The contrast was so interesting that nearly all the kindergartners were watching them in complete fascination.

"But we aren't dating!" loudly said Kyou. Gaze turning downward, the blush upon Kyou's face continued to spread, also deepening in color. Why did everyone seem to think that she and Kale were dating, and why did she blush so much every time such a supposition was made? Had she been not so embarrassed to look up she would have seen that Kale also was blushing.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed you were so jealous because the two of you were dating." said Tomoyo, only a slight shift in tone signifying the apologetic nature of her statement. Kyou looked up for a moment then turned her gaze back down. Jealousy, is that what she had been feeling? There was no reason for it though since they weren't dating. It should have been a emotion impossible in the situation, yet the purple-haired woman could not outright deny it, jealousy was the only way she could describe how she had felt. It was then that she thought of how she had wrongly accused Kale. She hadn't believed him either which most likely hurt him.

As Kyou thought on her actions she couldn't help but mumble to herself one word directed at herself.

"Idiot..."

* * *

Despite her strong sense of pride Kyou had apologized to Kale later that day after school, being too ashamed and embarrassed to say anything during lunch. When she had been apologizing to him, which he said was unnecessary, she had received a phone call from Ryou. The younger of the twins requested her presence the next day during lunch, it being a Sunday and thus Kyou's day off. The intended purpose of the lunch was for Kyou to get to know Ryou's fiance Kappei better, as they had only met very few times since Ryou had made her announcement. An unexpected idea came to Kyou while she had been talking to Ryou on the phone and decided to go with the idea, purely on impulse. She proclaimed that she would bring Kale along with her and that all four of them could take a walk through the part of town with a extreme variety of shops, after they had their lunch of course.

Neither her sister or Kale could change her decision. She was determined to make up for her poor behavior whether Kale thought it necessary or not. That is why they found themselves now walking down the street together to the appointed meeting on a lovely Sunday. One would think that the bright cheerful sky, the beautiful autumn foliage and lively atmosphere on the busy street would make the two of them equally jolly and conversational. Awkward silence however had been their companion for the majority of the walk so far. Kyou still felt ashamed for her rash and foolish behavior yesterday, that much was for sure. Another worry was what worried her to the point of silence though. Eventually though the worry became too great, growing past the point of silence and back to where she could talk.

"Um...Kale?" Her voice was amazingly timid and small. Kale looked at her, a tinge of worry and surprise on his face.

"Yes, what is it Kyou?" he asked.

"Well...the thing is..." she mumbled. Despite her apparent apprehension she continued to speak. "I just wanted you to know I wasn't upset or anything yesterday because of what you told me that morning. I acted the way I did at lunch because I was an idiot..." She lowered her head, looking away from Kale, her worry now exposed. Kale had exposed to her something he normally kept hidden, something that showed he trusted her. Yet despite that she doubted and wrongly accused him of something just but a few hours later. She continued to sink into her feeling of guilt when the sound of a chuckle reached her ears. Looking up she saw that it was Kale.

"Is that all?" he laughed softly. "Listen Kyou, I understand that what happened yesterday at lunch was a simple misunderstanding, nothing more. It certainly wasn't because you were an idiot, since that's impossible regarding the fact that you are no idiot. Plus I asked you at the time if what we had talked about in the morning had upset you. You said it had not and I believe you. So don't worry about it."

"Thanks." warmly smiled Kyou after she recovered from her surprise of Kale's understanding.

"I still don't think this was necessary though, taking me on this outing with you, your sister, and your future brother-in-law." said Kale.

"Hey, its no fun being the third wheel." huffed Kyou. It was an excuse to keep Kale here but true nonetheless. Kale gave an understanding nod to the statement.

"I can certainly sympathize with that." he sighed. "Having two older brothers marry while I still lived in the U.S. meant that I went on a lot of outings in which I was that dreaded 'third wheel'. It really is no fun at all."

"So very true..." Kyou sighed, thinking about the impending wedding. She was fine with her sister marrying but the lingering feeling of being left behind in life still continued to persist in her heart. Looking at Kale dispelled the dark thoughts though, for his image reminded her of one simple fact, she had friends so she wasn't being left alone in life. She would always have friends like Kale, Nagisa, Tomoya, and all the others she held so dear to her heart. Thinking on such happy thoughts the purple-haired woman couldn't help but smile. At that moment her walking companion happened to look over at her.

"What is it?" asked Kale. It was then that Kyou realized that she was staring at Kale with the smile plastered upon her face.

"Nothing really." she said as she shook her head slightly, the smile not once leaving her face. "I'm just glad to have such wonderful friends." Kale didn't respond to this with words, instead he simply returned the warm smile. They both turned their gaze forward to concentrate on their walking, making sure that they did not collide with anything. Not much else was said at the time, they simply both smiled as they walked. It was not much longer before their destination was within sight. Not far from them was the outdoor cafe where Ryou had revealed her engagement to Kyou. The younger of the Fujibayashi twins could be seen in the outdoor part of the cafe, waving to Kyou and Kale. Kyou briefly returned her wave then walked straight to the table with Kale close behind.

Upon coming closer both of them could see that a individual with hair similar in color to sand had been sitting with Ryou at the table. They were standing up now as was Ryou so as to properly greet them.

"Hey Ryou!" happily greeted Kyou.

"Hello Onee-chan." she smiled in return. "And hello again...Saunders-san was it?"

"Yes, that is my name. I'm honored that you remember it. It is a pleasure to see you again Fujibayashi-san." said Kale, bowing slightly in greeting. "I'm assuming that this. . . man is your fiance?" Kale had not meant to pause in his statement but he couldn't help it looking at the individual. He had a very youthful face, almost delicate to the point that it ruined any of the possible stereotypes often attributed to males. In this case Kale simply made the assumption and hoped for two things: that the assumption was correct and that the pause in his talking had not been noticed. The first of the two hopes was indeed granted unto Kale, the individual was indeed a man. The second hope of Kale's though was not granted, the other three had noticed his pause although their reaction was not one of being surprised. In fact Kyou and Ryou couldn't help but chuckle a little, Kyou especially. She had thought that Kappei was a female for a moment when she first met him, despite what Ryou had said earlier.

"Yes this is my fiance, Kappei Hiiragi." said Ryou, still chuckling a little as she introduced her beloved. Upon the introduction the sandy-haired man bowed.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Saunders-san." he said, bowing. Kale was surprised a little, even his voice sounded softer then the average male voice. He shrugged it off though as it didn't really matter that much really.

"The pleasure is mine." replied Kale, returning the bow. Before the silence following the introductions could hang over the four of them for long Ryou spoke up.

"Would you please join us?" politely requested Ryou.

"Of course. That's why we came, isn't it?" teasingly retorted Kyou. After Ryou gave a nod in response the four of them sat down at the table. Conversation temporarily halted as the four of them began to browse through the menus that were already at their table. It was broken briefly when Kale looked up from his menu and over at Kyou.

"Do you have any recommendations Kyou?" he asked. "I've only been here once when we came together. I'm not sure which dishes here are best."

"Ah so you have been here before then?" piped up Kappei. "Was this where you had your first date then?"

"First date?" said Kale, puzzled by Kappei's remark. Although he was confused by it Kyou was not, her head in her hands, groaning in frustration.

"Sure, you two are going out are you not?" Just as Ryou's fiance finished saying those words Kyou lifted her head, blazing glare burning into his face.

"We aren't going out!" she barked. Her head fell back into her hands, face beginning to blush. This was yet another person who though that the two of them were going out. Why was it that so many people got that misconception, and why did she blush every time it was brought up!

Kale too was blushing, but in his case he merely turned aside his gaze, he didn't bury his face in his hands like Kyou had for a little. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ryou whispering to Kappei, the words almost not able to be heard.

"I told you ahead of time that they were just friends..." Ryou whispered to Kappei.

"I'm sorry Ryou-san, but they just seemed to fit so well together that it just seemed so...natural." replied Kappei in a small whisper. Kale thought for a moment about inquiring about the usage of the name suffix, as he found it odd how they both used '-san' despite their impending marriage. He quickly discarded that topic as a possibility to be part of the conversation, thinking it as nosy. Everyone had their own quirks after all.

"So anyways," suddenly said Kappei, interrupting Kale's train of thought. "How did the two of you meet?"

"Well I had happened to wash Botan her pet boar when it was dirty without her knowing." began Kale. "The next day she saw me petting him and figured out that it was me that had done the deed." Kappei had crossed his arms, eyes closed as he nodded his head in admiration.

"A manly thing indeed, doing a good deed such as that for a woman." he said, nodding still slightly.

"Manly?" said Kale. "Never really thought of it that way..." Was this man concerned with manliness cause he was plagued with his youthful face? It certainly seemed possible to both Kale and Kyou.

"Oh, onee-chan." all of a sudden said Ryou. "I wanted to tell you that a definite date has finally been set for the wedding."

"Really? Well don't keep me waiting, when is it?" excitedly ordered Kyou.

"It will be on the 13th of November." she announced. "Its hard to get a chapel and a reception hall booked it seems."

"That being the reason for the...two months wait?" Kyou did some quick counting in her head, confirming her estimation. She nodded to herself when she did indeed confirm that it was such.

"Yeah, it is mostly that." replied Ryou. "Although there is somewhat another reason."

"Oh, what is that?" asked Kyou. She did feel bad for her and her sister dominating the conversation some but she knew Kale to be a somewhat quiet one anyways around most other. The only one she didn't know too much about was Kappei, but even he seemed satisfied with simply listening to the conversation.

"It's because of mother and father." she softly sighed. "Its not that they oppose the marriage or anything like that, its just that they are very comfortable doing things the traditional way. Personally we wouldn't mind marrying within just a month. They think an engagement should be longer though; and although they didn't come and outright say it I know they originally wanted me to hold a Traditional style wedding. They don't seem to have a problem with us doing a Western style wedding though."

"Pardon me for interrupting," unexpectedly spoke up Kale. "But, what do you mean by 'Traditional' style of wedding?"

"Ah, that is not really a surprise you wouldn't know what we are talking about." remembered Kyou. "A Traditional Style wedding, as it is called sometimes, is also called at other times a Shinto-Style Wedding. It's kind of silly since most of Japan aren't officially of the Shinto religion, yet it's...well it's ingrained into our culture, a tradition if you will. Thus why it's called a Traditional Style Wedding."

"Huh..." mumbled Kale as he absorbed the information. "Western style weddings, I'm guessing that they are weddings done in style similar to those done in Western countries such as the U.S.?"

"That would be correct." confirmed Kyou.

"Interesting..." he said softly to himself. "Well I guess I still have plenty of things to learn even after living here for some years."

"You know that brings a question to mind." Kyou did indeed have a question that formed in her mind. "How long have you lived here in Japan?"

"A little over 5 years now." the young brown haired man informed.

"Hm...so you can apply for nationality here then can't you?" inquired Ryou. "If I remember correctly two of the requirements for nationality of foreign-born individuals was at least 5 years continuous residence and being at least 21 years of age."

"Yep, you are indeed correct. Although I can't apply for nationality since I already have, which means officially I'm a citizen of Japan." smiled Kale.

"That's awesome!" happily exclaimed Kyou. She wasn't exactly sure why that information made her happy, she simply knew that it did.

The conversation then changed to various topics, most of them not really meaningful. Eventually they ordered their lunch, which came quickly, and then continued to talk as they ate. Throughout the conversation Kale would occasionally look at Ryou and notice her looking at him in an odd way. The first time or so he merely thought that it was his imagination. However it seemed like every time he did happen to glance in her direction she was as well. Eventually it got to the point he couldn't remain silent any longer.

"Is there something the matter Fujibayashi-san?" he said in a polite tone, making sure he did not sound angry or disturbed at all. At first Kyou thought that Kale was talking to her but then soon realized that it was Ryou he was talking to.

"Oh...I'm sorry I did not mean to stare." apologized Ryou, bowing slightly while still sitting. "It's just...I think I saw you before somewhere." This statement of course was met with confused faces from Kale and Kyou.

"Well...yeah, of course you have met him before, he was here when you told me of your engagement and he was there for our birthday party." said Kyou slowly, somewhat unsure as to why her sister said what she said.

"On I don't mean that!" Ryou quickly added, flustered somewhat. "I think I've seen you somewhere else, when you weren't with Kyou, and not at those two places either." Kyou gave her sister an odd look which prompted her to then with haste say, "I-I'm sorry, its just bothering you know?"

Kale laughed softly, unable to contain it. "I understand, I've had that happen to me before, when you know that you know something but you can't remember what. Although I must admit I can't think of where you would have seen me before...Hm..." The young man fell silent, right hand brought to his chin as he thought. Eventually he looked up to Ryou and asked, "If I remember correctly you are a nurse are you not?"

"That is correct." confirmed Ryou.

"Is it possible then that you saw me at the hospital that is here in the town then?" inquired Kale.

"The hospital...Ah! Yes it was there!" exclaimed Ryou. "But what were you doing at the hospital?...Ah, I'm sorry! I shouldn't be asking such personal questions."

"Don't worry about it." comforted Kale, quite apparently not at all offended. "It is in the nature of people to be curious. I will tell you if it is your wish." Ryou looked torn, unable to decide for a minute or so whether to take up Kale on his offer. However even her politeness was matched by her curiosity. Eventually she nodded, signaling that she did want to know. Kyou's full attention was on Kale, she too wanting to know why he was at the hospital.

"The thing is that my doctor's office is at the hospital." he began. "I go there regularly to get refills for my prescriptions and to see how I'm doing. You see, the thing is that the medicine is for-"

"Kale." interrupted Kyou, strongly but in a compassionate voice as well. "You..You don't have to tell them..." She knew exactly what the medicine must be for and thus what he had been doing at the hospital. She also knew how before he was afraid of revealing his burden unto others for fear of them treating him differently.

"It's alright." softly smiled Kale, looking over at Kyou. "She is your sister and if she is anything like you I'm sure she'll understand." His smile slowly faded as he looked back over at Ryou, Kyou even noticing a twinge of worry briefly adorning his face. "The medicine is for ADHD and Chemical Depression."

"Ah...I see." nodded Ryou. "I can certainly see why you'd want to hide it, though I wish you didn't have to."

"What do you mean?" asked Kappei who had been rather quiet throughout the conversation. "If I am not mistaken they are simple disorders, nothing incredibly special."

"Well I'm not sure what it was like where you came from Kappei-san." replied Ryou. As she did Kyou briefly leaned towards Kale, whispering in his ear.

"Kappei is a foreign-born like you, although I don't know from which country." Kyou discreetly said. Kale had heard her but the others apparently did not since Ryou continued talking without any pause.

"The thing is unfortunately mental disorders are not so understood here in Japan..." sighed Ryou. "It is not as if people burdened by them are hunted or anything, its just that...well people seem to be almost afraid of it. Its not something to be feared, yet many people do not make a earnest attempt at truly understanding such disorders...Although there aren't many, even a few of the doctors and nurses at the hospital I work are somewhat prejudice towards people with mental disorders. Thankfully things are starting to turn around in the past few years...but the problem still persists."

"I see..." mumbled Kappei. He then turned to Kale, looking him straight in the eye. "Saunders-san, you are indeed a man, a very manly one at that."

"Um...thank you?" said Kale, somewhat surprised at the strange and unexpected compliment.

"I'm very impressed with how brave you are." continued Kappei. "I myself hadn't been so brave about the burdens I had, even going so far as to lie about them and hide them." Kale couldn't help but have a curious look upon his face. He wanted to ask but was afraid it would be too personal of a question. Kyou again leaned towards Kale, whispering in his ear.

"I'll tell you about it later." she said. Kale simply nodded to indicate that he would wait. Kyou did indeed know what Kappei was talking about, as Ryou had told her. Apparently when the two of them had met Kappei had Osteosarcoma, a type of cancer. It had been a painful ordeal for both Kappei and Ryou. However it had been cured which is why Kappei was still among the living.

"Well enough with all this serious talk." said Kyou, standing up from her chair. "Since we are all finished eating how about we go take a walk and look at some of the shops?"

"Sure, that sounds like fun." said Ryou. The other two agreed and after the check was paid the four of them were then walking down the street. Occasionally they would stop in front of a store window and look inside but they had yet to go into one. All of them were content with simply browsing and conversing with one another. They then began to walk down one street where one of the establishments was a arcade. Kyou happened to glance over and gave a little gasp of exclamation.

"Hey! Look Ryou, there is that crane machine we use to play a lot." she said, beginning to trot over to it without waiting for the others. Ryou looked at the machine and became a little surprised herself.

"Oh yes, I remember that." she said. "If I remember correctly one time you were playing it to try and get Kotomi-chan a present for her birthday. I'm surprised the same machine is still here." Kyou didn't respond though as she was too far away know, already closely observing the contents of the machine. She gave another little exclamation of surprise.

"What is it?" asked Kale, he too walking over.

"Hm?" replied Kyou, not realizing that she had acted the way she had. "Oh...um...its nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Oh come on, tell me what it is." pried Kale.

"Its nothing really..." she mumbled, barely perceptible to Ryou and Kappei who were still standing a little ways off. "It's childish really, shouldn't get excited about it..."

"Hm...It's the boar plushy that is in there, isn't it?" guess Kale. Kyou looked away from him sheepishly. He had guessed right.

"Alright, here I go!" exclaimed Kale. He inserted the necessary amount of money to play the game and began to go for the boar plushy. Kyou looked at Kale, then to the machine then back. Surprise first being the emotion upon her face, then replaced with a joy and excitement that was pure and innocent, almost like that of a child. She excitedly shouted suggestions that were more like orders, though Kale didn't mind. In fact he himself was grinning from ear to ear, trying the game again and again, each time failing. He was persistent though, his mind clearly set on not giving up.

Ryou who was still watching from a distance laughed softly to herself. She loved it when she saw her twin sister so happy. As she watched them an idea came to her.

"Kappei-san?" she said, asking for the attention of her fiance.

"Yes, what is it?" he asked softly.

"Would you mind if we sent an invitation to Saunders-san as well?" she inquired. "I know neither of us know him very well but..." she briefly turned her gaze to the pair, both of them still absorbed with the operation of the crane machine. "I haven't seen my sister this happy in so long...I want to be this way as much as possible...Plus I think you are right, they do fit well together, as if it is natural." A sudden cry of joy and excitement drew her attention to the two of them, Kyou squeezing the large boar plushy and her smile beaming.

"They may not be dating," continued Ryou. "But they very well may do so in the future."

"I think so too." agreed Kappei. The sandy-haired young man took a hold of one of Ryou's hands, giving it a light squeeze. "I don't mind. In fact it is a very good idea. It certainly wouldn't hurt to help them along now would it?" Ryou giggled and then looked into the eyes of her beloved.

"No, it certainly wouldn't hurt at all."

* * *

a/n: Thank you for reading, any reviews (not flames) would be appreciated. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully the next one will not take so long.


	8. Chapter 7: Thinking of the Future

a/n: Wow...it's been way way too long since my last post. _ My humblest apologies for that. Life is simply making it so that fan-fictions are a lower priority right now. I have to concentrate on other things. I will continue to try and work on this but posting will be erratic at best. Quality of work possibly may diminish as well, such as in this chapter. I'm not very confident with this one admittedly, but hopefully it isn't too terrible.

* * *

Chapter 7: Thinking of the Future

A soft yet echoing clap spread throughout the spacious wedding hall. The one who had clapped, the wedding officiator, used the moment in which he had grabbed everyone's' attention to speak to them.

"Well done everyone." he said, a warm smile upon his face. "That concludes this rehearsal. Make sure everyone is here on time for the real thing." With that said he turned, white robe and purple stole swishing gently, and exited through a nearby door. The instant the door was all the way closed the wedding hall was filled with reverent yet constant chatter. The topics conversed wildly, some commenting on how the rehearsal had gone, others talking about how lovely bride was. Some topics, especially those voiced by the young children, were much simpler in complaints of them being bored and or tired.

Kyou Fujibayshi, who had been standing near the front where the maid-of-honor should be, felt her skin crawl. She was not opposed to crowds or a party, quite the contrary. Many of her happy memories involved events that had many of her close friends and such. What it was that was bothering her was this family gathering. She dreaded when many distant relatives gathered together and she had to put on a facade of her being a prim, polite, and proper young woman. To be expected to be loving and kind to people she had barely, and in some cases never, even met. Family was wonderful, but this...this was a bit much.

'_If only Kale was here_.' she found herself thinking. '_Wait...what?_' She was rather confused by her very own thoughts. Why had she specifically thought about Kale? Briefly pondering upon it she came up with the answer that she felt more comfortable around him since she could be herself. She had other people she could be herself around though, not just Kale. Why had she singled him out specifically? Why not one of her other friends who hadn't shown up for the rehearsal since they weren't part of the procession? She battled with herself, trying to come up with some form of rationalization, and yet she could not succeed.

Sighing in frustration, she turned her attention to retreat, both from the stifling atmosphere and from her own confusing thoughts. She glanced about almost desperately, trying to think of something. Her eyes then fell upon her answer: a door. To be more specific, the door which her sister Ryou and their mother had exited through shortly after the Wedding Officiator had left. Maybe she could see her sister one last time before she was a married woman.

Not even thinking far enough ahead as to what she would talk about with Ryou, Kyou swiftly made for the exit, nimbly avoiding any relative who might possibly capture her with boring and dull conversation. Thankfully she was successful and made it to the door without any relatives capturing her. Once she got through the door she was then in a hallway that had little more then multiple doors on the side opposite of Kyou, only two doors on her side, and a door at the very end of the hallway. Kyou looked at the doors opposite her, searching for where her sister and mother could have gone. One door was ever so slightly cracked open, lighting from within the room wafting out into the hallway. That being the only one seemingly occupied, Kyou went towards it. She placed her hand upon the handle, peeking in as she pressed the door open, ready to shut it in a hurry if the dressing room was occupied by someone other then her sister and mother.

Such was not the case, Ryou and their mother being the only occupants, though the atmosphere within prompted Kyou into remaining silent for the time being and to not enter further. Their mother was lowering Ryou's veil. It was a event with mixed feelings, it being the last thing a mother did for her child. Eventually Kyou's presence was realized. The mother of the Fujibayashi twins gave a warm smile to Kyou as she silently left the room.

After watching her mother leave Kyou turned her gaze back towards her beloved sister, both of their faces glowing with happiness. The elder of the twins went to the younger, sitting down so they were at eye level. Of course though Ryou's face was partially shrouded by the veil, making direct eye contact a little more difficult.

"You look beautiful." observed Kyou as she took in the sight of her sister adorned in a beautiful white wedding dress. It felt strange in a way to see her dressed up this way though the feeling joy she felt far overshadowed that. Bittersweet may be an appropriate word but the sweet far outweighed the bitter.

"Thank you." gracefully replied Ryou. The tone was tinted with a ever so slight sense of melancholy, accentuated more so by a sigh that wafted out from the bride-to-be. Kyou lifted a worried and puzzled eyebrow, gaze firmly fixated upon her sister.

"What's wrong?" asked Kyou. "You aren't having second thoughts are you?" The question was physically rejected by Ryou's actions, she jumping in surprise, shaking both her hands and her head almost frantically.

"Oh no no no." she firmly replied. "It's just..." The former frantic nature that had come upon Ryou died down, replaced again with the worry that was greater then the usual anxiety that accompanied her. He head lifted and he gaze was upon Kyou, though it was hard to tell for sure because of the veil.

"Well...It's just that I'm sorry." finally said Ryou. Again the initial emotion that the other Fujibayashi twin felt was one of confusion and uncertainty.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" As far as Kyou recalled their wasn't anything that Ryou had done that warranted an apology. Kyou figured that in this case it was merely Ryou being her usual worried self, something that would always be a part of her. It had been quite apparent in their high school years and died out some when they grew older. It coming out again at this point in time was no big surprise. The stress of a big event such as a wedding did stranger things to people.

"Well...I just feel as if I am leaving you behind." admitted Ryou. An exasperated sigh escaped from Kyou. She leaned forward and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen Ryou." she said, an authoritative but comforting tone now in her voice."You aren't leaving me behind. We are on different paths in our lives, you simply reaching the point of marriage before me is no big deal. I'm happy for you, really. So be glad, this is your wedding day after all."

"You're right, as usual big sis." said Ryou, her tone already brightening considerably. "I guess when I think about it I'm not really leaving you behind anyways. Might not be long before you are in my position."

"Wha-" A blush had formed on Kyou's face as her words died in her through. He body movements became more jagged and much less calm. She was clearly flustered by what Ryou had said. "W-what are you talking about? Kale and I haven't even dated!"

"I never said anything about Kale." The chuckle from Ryou once she said that infuriated Kyou. It was rare but sometimes Ryou did get the upper-hand on Kyou in conversation. It was normally frustrating and embarrassing when it did happen and in this situation that feeling was compounded even more so.

"I didn't...W-well I..." Kyou's words were a jumble, not forming any coherent sentences at all. Her blush and embarrassment finally grew too much, causing Kyou to exclaim, "Oh just forget it!" The embarrassed young woman stormed out of the room, closing the door behind her as a chuckle continued to waft forth from the room.

It was so embarrassing to Kyou. Ryou was completely right, she had never mentioned Kale's name. So why was it that the name of that janitor had popped into her head so effortlessly that it felt so natural at the mention of her getting married? Why why why!?

Her own thoughts tormented her to the point of great embarrassment. She couldn't think very clearly about the matter, the more she did the more muddled her mind became. Desperate yet again for escape Kyou decided to go to the entrance area of the wedding hall. If she went back to the actual wedding hall she would be trapped by what she originally was escaping from and if she went back to Ryou her thoughts would most likely be jumbled yet again. So the entrance area was the only reasonable choice.

Walking down the hallway she soon reached the very door that would lead to her escape. It emptied out into the entrance area in the corner of it, out of the way and thus sure to not garner too much attention. That would allow her some time to calm down before she interacted with people. Sighing in exasperation at herself, Kyou grasped the doorknob, turning it and pushing the door open. The door didn't travel far before it bumped into something, garnering yet another sigh from Kyou. Well there went her quiet entrance.

"Oh, I'm sorry." said the voice from the other side, muffled somewhat by the material between the owner of the voice and Kyou.

"Well yeah you should be sorry for standing in front of a door." huffed Kyou, her mind not feeling gathered enough to deal with the normal social niceties. She pushed the door open again, more gently, in a test to see if the person had moved. They had indeed, the door opening with little effort.

"Again, I do apolo- Kyou?" The person on the other side of the door was someone Kyou did recognize, it being Kale. No verbal response came immediately from the stunned woman. There he was, the very person that her thoughts were so muddled over. The very person that her sister had gently teased her about. Finally Kyou was able to respond.

"Kyaaa!" she exclaimed. Instinct and automatic response driving her, since coherent thought was impossible at this time, Kyou spun on one foot, the other making contact with Kale's head. The target hit, Kyou slammed the door shut, her face a brilliant red.

* * *

"I am so sorry..." moaned Kyou, her hand grasping the ice pack as she placed it against Kale's cheek. She retracted her hand when Kale took hold of it himself, applying the pressure himself.

After Kyou had a few second to gather her senses after kicking Kale she came to his aid. They went into a empty dressing room so she could take care of him, at her insistence of course. Kale had initially refused treatment, saying he was alright. In the end he lost to Kyou's stubbornness and they thus found themselves in a unoccupied dressing room.

"No no, it's alright." quickly interjected the injured young man, he waving his free hand at her softly. "If anyone is to blame it would be me, I'm the one that surprised you." Kyou gave him in response a cold glare. She had grabbed a washcloth that was dampened with cool water and then began to use it to clean Kale's face.

"Idiot..." she quietly said. "Don't take the blame on yourself for this too...It was my fault." No matter how she thought about it it really was. She had acted out of embarrassment and on instinct and struck Kale merely because she saw him. He didn't jump out at her, hug her from behind or anything that could be considered a surprise. It was all her, that much was fact.

"Well...alright, if you insist." finally relented Kale, though by the tone of his voice and shifting of his eyes it was obvious he did such quite reluctantly. "I must ask though...why were you so jumpy?" Kyou shifted a little nervously upon hearing the question, her mind thinking on what she should say. A simple lie that the reason for her nervous state was that she was nervous about her sister's wedding could be told and probably believed quite easily. Kyou felt that Kale didn't deserve such though.

"Well...I had a conversation with Ryou." she said. "It...well it put me on edge." Despite Kyou's desire to tell Kale the truth there was no way she could say that it was because he was the subject that caused the embarrassment that put her on edge. She simply couldn't. Thankfully Kale seemed to accept what she said with no questions to be asked, at least not that he showed.

"Ah...I see." nodded Kale. "Well I'm fine now, you don't have to worry about me anymore." He gave her in vain a dismissive wave, trying to get her to stop fussing over him. It was indeed in vain, Kyou brushing it off.

"Just shut up..." she huffed, though not with as much venom in her voice as she had used to others before. She continued to clean his face and once that was done dust off his clothing. As she was in the middle of such a knock came at the door. The door creaked open upon verbal permission given by Kyou, a worker of the wedding hall sticking his head in.

"Fujibayashi-san, the ceremony is near ready to commence. Could you please come with me?" Kyou's brows knitted as she glanced in between Kale and the wedding hall worker, obviously wanting to continue taking care of him but also needing to depart as well. With a smile and a wave Kale once again spoke to her.

"I told you, I'm fine. Now go and hurry, you wouldn't want to miss your sister's wedding now would you?" Kyou's worry on her face lessened a bit but not entirely. She nodded to Kale, standing up and following the wedding hall worker out of the room.

The further she got from the room the more nervous she got. Never would she admit to anyone that she was nervous of course, they thought too strongly of her as a strong person. She didn't want to let them down. Oh but how nervous was she, the actual wedding almost already to begin. Her hands wrung each other, her worry becoming palpable. He body tensed up, her head turning back and forth for no particular reason. While in in this somewhat panicked state Kyou caught sight of something behind her. The door to the room she had recently exited open, Kale poking his head out and looking in her direction. He didn't react right away, he most certainly studying her and seeing that she was rather nervous. Upon seeing the obvious he gave a warm smile and a thumbs-up.

As simple as a action it was it had a immediate and noticeable effect. Kyou felt her nerves calm considerably, even to the point of a smile being able to creep onto her face. She gave a light wave towards Kale then turned back, following the wedding hall worker with a much more collected attitude. Everything would be alright, that much she now felt.

* * *

The music began to play, it's noise heard even through the walls and the thick closed doors of the wedding hall. The doors opened for a brief moment, allowing in the first people of the procession. Those who had not gone in yet were off to the side so the bride would not be glanced at were anyone to look at the doors as they opened for the first part of the procession. As the first few walked in Kyou glanced back behind her, seeing how her sister was doing.

Even with the veil concealing her facial features a good deal the elder of the Fujibayashi twins could tell that she was nervous. That mood must have been detected by their father who was currently standing my Ryou's side, whispering comforting words. Kyou smiled and looked back forward, making sure that it was not yet time for her to enter into the hall. As she waited Kyou's mind began to wander a little.

What would she be like on her wedding day? Would she be just a nervous as her younger sister was now? At first she denied that, thinking she would be strong and bold about the thing. But reluctantly she admitted to herself that she would be nervous. Probably a wreck, more so then Ryou. Her sister may be more reserved then her but she was calmer and more in control of her emotions. After all Kyou had given in to her emotions on multiple occasions and smashed in the face of whoever or whatever was frustrating her with a dictionary.

Maybe, would her emotions and personality would result in attack a wedding hall worker out of frustration? The idea did certainly seem plausible, even to Kyou. She couldn't help but imagine it. The picture came to her mind so easily. She adorned in a pure white dress, attacking a wedding hall worker while the procession began, the music of the event looming over her.

A gentle hand on the shoulder brought Kyou out of her imagination. It was a wedding worker, gently informing her that she was to exit out into the hall now. The flower girl and ring-bearer were both very young children and so they needed Kyou, the Maid-of-honor to come out right behind them, making sure that they didn't wander too far off course. Kyou's breath caught in her chest upon entering the hall, seeing all of the people turn to look. Having so many eyes on her was rather unnerving so she concentrated on the children. Them seem rather well-coached as they never really varied from the plan considerably. Being given considerable room for free thinking Kyou's mind did begin to wander again. She imagined herself walking down the aisle not as a maid-of-honor but as the bride.

Kyou could see herself walking down the aisle, heart aflutter but happy for the day. Everyone's eyes would be on her for then it would be her day. No, her husband-to-be's day as well. In her imagination she looked up to gaze through her veil to look upon that man. A image instantly came to her. A man with brown hair, his gentle smile accompanying his kind eyes. She...she knew that man. Though she wouldn't admit that she had instantly imagined that person. It...there...there was just no way. It was impossible? Kyou shook her head a little, trying to shake the thoughts from her head. She had good timing, she reaching the area that was raised a little. No longer having to guide the little children Kyou took her place right next to where the bride would be. Her dear sister...she would soon be married. Even now it still felt strange and almost unbelievable.

Then the music changed, the tune all too familiar to those who had seen weddings before in life or on television. Everyone's head turned again, this time Kyou looking as well. It was time for the bride's entrance. Ryou, her arm around her father's arm, came into view. Everyone who was seated stood, their gaze still upon Ryou. She slowly went down the aisle, passing by the guests who had come to see her on this special day. Kyou's face beamed, she was so happy for her sister. She had found love, such a wonderful and precious thing.

Once Ryou was at the altar the Fujibayashi father untangled his arm from her, turning towards the groom. Since the groom was a orphan another individual acted as a stand-in for him. That individual was Yusuke Yoshino. Yusuke and Kappei knew each other due to events in their pasts, ones that had been explained to Kyou before. The Fujibayashi father bowed to Yusuke as he did the same in return. With that settled the wedding officiator began to speak.

The exact words that were spoken at that time were drowned out by Kyou. She had heard them plenty of times during the rehearsal. Her job, walking down the aisle, was finished. Now all she had to do was stand there and smile like a idiot. As much as Kyou loved her sister she wasn't entirely thrilled about being on display for everyone. Of course not much attention was focused on her since it wasn't her wedding day.

That mere thought sent her into her personal fantasy once again. The elder Fujibayashi twin saw herself at the alter, that all too familiar man at her side. Of course she had still not changed her stance, she would not at all admit who that person was. No matter how she tried she could not insert the image of another person in that place in her imaginations. That man was firmly within, entrenched and never to be removed.

Forcibly Kyou snapped herself back into reality, looking upon Ryou. Now she and her to-be-husband were exchanging their vows. They were simple and short but so incredibly sweet. The love Kappei and Ryou felt for each other was so very easily seen and felt. Then as quick as a flash the wedding officiator said those words that united them as man and wife.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." he said, face smiling as he looked upon the couple he had united. "You may kiss the bride." Kappei obliged of course, lifting the veil and his lips meeting with Ryou's. The room exploded into a blast of noise and excitement, cheers and laughter filling the room. Tears too were quite abundant amongst the people in the room. Even the mighty Kyou felt drips of happiness leaking out of her eyes.

Her sister was now married. How truly wonderful a day it was.

* * *

Laughter seemed to be the most prominent noise now. The wedding was officially over, at least the ceremony was. Now it was on to the reception. Even though it was basically talking with relatives, laughing at their corny jokes during their speeches and congratulations spoken over the microphone, Kyou still found herself infected by the joviality of the situation. That was the case only for some of the time, at other times she felt bored, tired even since she had to sit at the family table, easily seen by all and thus a smile necessary at all times. Stupid social niceties, they added more stress to the party, not aiding the joy. This was a happy day though, one meant to be enjoyed. Kyou thus suffered through it, wanting dearly to make this day of her little sister the best possible.

Finally it came to be her turn to make a speech. Her mother and father had already done such so she was the last direct family member. Standing from her seat, she took the microphone handed to her. In that brief moment she took the chance to scan the crowd. Amongst the distant relatives she didn't much care about she did see her own family. Not her blood related direct family that was seated next to her. She saw her closest friends, most if not all of which she considered to be family. Dear friends such as Kotomi, Sunohara, Tomoya and Nagisa...She hadn't even begun her speech and already she felt tears beginning to well up within her eyes. It was at that moment she caught sight of one person who had lately become more and more important. There he was seated with the Okazaki family, Kale Saunders.

That very man was look back straight at her, smiling at her with that signature warm smile of his. Instantly its warmth began to fill her soul, washing away the tears of sentiment for the time being, allowing Kyou the chance to begin her speech. She was astounded though how much it easily effected her.

"My dear sister..." she said at first, voice still wavering slightly from the recovery from almost crying tears of sentiment. "What more can I say? Already many words of wisdom have been given to you by those experienced in marriage..." Each word to Kyou was a monumental struggle to fully say with great meaning. These were fancy words, ones that weren't naturally spoken by her. Kyou knew though that her natural self wouldn't fit well in this environment, what with her being brash and unafraid to say that which was normally left unsaid. Despite the difficulty she faced, censoring herself to fit social standards, she pressed onwards, each words so truly and sincerely meant for her dear sister.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't envious." she continued, noting that despite her best efforts to be socially 'correct' her true side still shone through. "I do hope to follow in your footsteps, find someone who I love and loves me." A image briefly flashed through her mind but she dismissed it as quickly as it came, not even bothering to see what it was. "But for today, I just want to say this to you my dear dear sister...I love you, and I am so happy for you. Congratulations." Again holding back tears of sentiment she moved to sit down, the booming sound of applause filling the room in approval of her short, sweet, and simple message that was nonetheless very heartfelt and moving.

The noise of applause wasn't filled with silence afterwords but was instead substituted with the din of the conversations occurring between the many guests. The main course was served, only appetizers and the like being served before the final speech. Kyou mindlessly consumed it, wishing that she could go down from the main table and join with her friends. No one right now was talking to her, her sister was deep in conversation with her new husband and the only words Kyou briefly got from her parents were praises for her speech. She didn't resent them at all for the few words, it was their duties as parents of the bride to chat with the other people at the main table. Kyou though still felt a bit lonely in this crowd. If only she could join with her friends...If only she could go sit with Kale.

For what felt like ages she was stuck in the crowd, doomed to continue to bear the heavy burden of social niceties and appearances. The only thing that saved her from having to constantly participate in the small talk was the food in front of her, picking at it with the claim that she was hungry. Finally though people began to leave the tables, it time for dancing. Eagerly Kyou took the chance to get up from the table, almost everyone else having left to dance. Without even actively planning it beforehand, Kyou made her destination the table at which the small family of Okazaki sat. While Tomoya, Nagisa, and little Ushio were all well loved by her, Kyou wanted to chat with the other person there: Kale.

Not having any family in the country nor anyone wanting him to sit by himself he had been seated with the Okazakis, he knowing them at least a little, which was more then he could claim about anyone else here, except Kyou of course.

As she made her way over Kyou realized something, frustration at this delayed realization bubbling within her. People had just started to dance, so her approaching him would make it seem as if she intended to request a dance. She couldn't ask such a thing! Heck, she was the type of person to respond to any such requests to her with the insult of 'idiot' or if the person had ill intentions, with physical violence. Plus she was still a bit confounded by her earlier imaginations about him. It...She couldn't ask him! She couldn't turn away from him either now, she had already closed half of the distance between them. It would look odd and quite possibly rude if she did abort her approach. Oh what to do, what to do?!

She never did fully approach Kale's seat. The man had seemed to fight against his own somewhat reserved nature, standing up and walking towards Kyou, not even waiting for her to finish her approach. What Kyou hadn't noticed was that before Kale had stood that Tomoya had leaned over and whispered something to Kale, the prompt being what helped prompted Kale. As he came even closer Kyou stopped, her flustered mind not wanting to approach any closer but not wanting to depart either. So she stood there, like a deer caught in headlights, widened eyes taking in all visual information. One thing that stood out to her was that as Kale got closer he began to rub the back of his head, a physical habit he resorted to when embarrassed. Knowing that he was embarrassed about approaching her somehow made Kyou even more flustered.

"Hey...um..." began Kale, his voice barely able to be heard above the playing music. Kale brought his head up, looking at her with hands now both down at his sides, fingers fidgeting as he struggled to say what he wanted to say. "Would you like to dance?"

Such a simple request and yet Kyou's face reddened incredibly so. She made a strange almost strangled-like noise, unable to initially form words. "Wha-" she first stammered, even that being barely intelligible. "What makes you think I can even dance?" Although she didn't call him a idiot outright she did have a harsh tone in her voice, as if it was truly a ridiculous idea that shouldn't have even entered his mind. Yet it did not seem to deter Kale. In fact the response of her's was met with a amused smile. Kale knew her far too well by now to know she didn't mean to sound negative of him, she was just a bit...defensive.

"Well, even if you can't, I wouldn't mind." he replied patiently. Holding out a hand to her he continued speaking. "I'm not that great of a dancer, but I am willing to try."

This admittance seemed to calm Kyou down quite a bit. Looking at him, she gingerly placed her hand in his, nodding while blushing. Embarrassed still though, she looked down at the floor and to the side as they walked to a good spot to dance. When they stopped walking and instead began to dance, she turned his attention on him. At first it was an awkward gaze for both of them. Slowly overtime they became more relaxed, smile replacing nervous blushes, laughter and happiness replacing embarrassment. Without them even saying anything to decide on it, they both danced to every song played, energy filling them as they did so instead of the usual fatigue that accompanied such activities. It was both a small moment and something that felt like a eternity, everything simply felt right.

The happiness displayed by them didn't go unnoticed. Two particular people in fact were watching them, not even hiding their curious gazes since they were so lost in their own world. Nagisa, one of the two onlookers, turned to her husband. Tomoya was looking upon Kyou and Kale as well, but he did his best to maintain a air of disinterest, a habit all the way back from his teenage years, always acting disinterested and yet always helping out.

"I think they make each other happy...Don't you?" inquired Nagisa. This did garner a response, though not a immediate answer to her question was given.

"Huh?" was all Tomoya said at first, his mind still catching up with her words. "Oh uh...I guess so." No more did he add to the conversation, just watching Kyou and Kale in both boredom and a reserved interest. Nagisa didn't let the conversation die though, deciding to add more words.

"It would be nice if they could both be happy, wouldn't it?" said Nagisa, her gaze now firmly fixated upon the topic of the conversation. This time Nagisa's words did garner more attention and reaction from Tomoya. His head lifted from his hand, it having been propping up his head before. Although he was looking at Nagisa his eyes didn't speak much emotion, only a slightly upraised eyebrow betraying what he might be feeling.

It wasn't curiosity as one might initially think though. It was more akin to awareness, a realization of what was happening inside the head of his wife. For a brief moment Tomoya played with the idea of calling Nagisa out on the center of her thoughts, though quickly realized such would be futile. Nagisa would deny the idea of being a matchmaker, she would merely say she was helping them out, or some other frantic denial of the quite obvious. No, Tomoya just let it slide, resting his head in his hand once more as he looked back at the dancing pair.

"Yeah, I guess it would be nice." he replied, a small smile forming at the corners of his mouth.

* * *

a/n: Yeah...Not my greatest chapter...I may have not so bad ideas, I just can't execute them properly for some reason. *shrughs* Yeah, so if someone (there is one person in particular who offered in a review) is interested in being a beta reader/editor/whatever you wanna call it, and maybe help give me a motivational kick in the rear, feel free to send a pm or a email directly to my email account. Thank you so much for putting up with this...'chapter'. Hopefully the next one won't be so bad. _


	9. Chapter 8: Experienced Advice

a/n: Well, here it is, the next chapter. I am receiving help from a new beta so please hear with us. Enjoy.

Chapter 8: Experienced Advice

"I'm sorry, but I won't be able to Nagisa." said a voice. Although the sound of the voice was really familiar, that was not what drew the attention of little Ushio, who had lifted her head from the mound of sand that was suppose to be a sculpture. It was actually the name that was said that gained the child's attention, a thrill entering her heart at the prospect of the arrival of her mother. Her gaze did see mama, though she was standing next to her teacher Kyou.

"Mama!" called Ushio happily, leaving behind the sand pile she had been working with. She darted over to Nagisa, hugging one of her legs with all the enthusiasm her little arms could muster.

"Ah, hello Shio-chan." replied Nagisa, giving that smile that made Ushio's chest feel all warm and fuzzy. "Just one moment, I need to talk to your teacher."

Ushio nodded, signifying understanding though she truly didn't fully comprehend. What did she need to talk to teacher about? Nothing was coming up anytime soon, not that she knew of anyways.

"You have to at least ask, Kyou-chan." said Nagisa, turning her head back to Kyou. She did not ignore Ushio though, touching one of her hands to the child's back as she continued to cling to her leg. "I mean, Shio-chan here will be so disappointed if you can't come." This prompted Ushio to look up, quite clearly confused. She didn't comprehend before and understood even less now.

"Well she wouldn't have even known, judging from what you told me." huffed Kyou, an ever so slight frown upon her face. Back in their school days this simple facial expression alone would have caused Nagisa to become flustered. Yet now all she did was give a small giggle.

"But she knows now, so you just have to." she said, quite persistent in her words.

Kyou sighed, a sense of exasperation in the tone. "I can't just take that time off though." she said, continuing to resist whatever it was Nagisa was insisting upon. "To take the Friday off along with the rest of the weekend for a trip... I just don't think I can spare the time."

_Trip?!_ That single word made Ushio stiffen with excitement. Oh how she loved to take trips! If they could go to that field of flowers again... That would be so wonderful.

"Bah, says you," interjected another voice. This one was masculine and well seasoned with age. Ushio recognized it but was not as familiar with it as she was with teacher's voice. She turned her head, as did Nagisa and Kyou, to see a middle-aged man walking towards them.

"Ah, you surprised me Director." said Kyou, giving a bow to the newcomer.

The man stood not much taller then the two grown women. His black hair was combed back, gray hair stemming from the temples of his head signifying his age. His mustache, a mixture of black and gray, added to his appearance.

It was the part Ushio liked best. It reminded her of a fuzzy caterpillar. It would always ruffle as he talked, just as he was doing now. "Sorry about that," he chortled. "But I had to call you out on what you said."

"About what?" Clearly Kyou did not follow what the Director was talking about.

"About the not being able to take time off," he quickly replied. "You've never taken a vacation during your whole time here!"

"I'm afraid I still don't follow." said Kyou, brows furrowing a little. "I'm just too busy with class. I can't just randomly take a day off!"

"Bah I say!" He gave Kyou a dismissive wave. "Even before now you'd have been able to, what with our excellent substitutes. Now it is even easier, with your new teacher's assistant. She could use this chance to learn what it feels like to be the main teacher in the classroom."

"True yes," said Kyou, brow continuing to remained furrowed, her mind beginning to cook up an counter-argument. "But she-"

"Do you think her incapable of taking charge in a class?" interrupted the Director. His voice was unwavering, not leaving any room for a counter-interruption.

"Well, she is perfectly capable but-" Kyou was not rude enough to ignore the Director's question but she was quick in answering, desperate to get her counter-argument said.

"But nothing." playful scoffed the man. "Don't deny Sakagami this chance, nor the chance for you to take a much needed break." He laughed as he walked away, giving them a wave. "I'll make sure your schedule is open for this Friday and the weekend."

Not given a single chance to fight back, Kyou could do nothing but scowl as the man continued to walk away, laughing.

* * *

As Ushio recalled this memory, she looked up to the person in the seat opposite of her. Kyou was looking out the nearby window, the scenery whizzing by as their train traveled quickly along the track. It was evening now and the setting sun gave the sky a vibrant red color, giving the near empty train car a crimson hue.

"Sensei?" asked Ushio, her voice a little restrained due to worry.

"Hm?" was all that came from Kyou at first as her heard turned. She had been concentrating on the scenery so much that it took a moment for her mind to catch up to the fact that someone was trying to talk to her. "Oh, what is it Ushio?"

"Are you mad?"

"Mad?" said Kyou, confused a little by her question. "What would I be mad about?"

"Well you didn't want to go on this trip..." said Ushio. To her that idea alone was confounding. Who wouldn't want to go on a trip?! Yet Kyou had displayed frustration before when first asked. "You looked mad when the Director told you to go."

"Oh...that..." sheepishly replied Kyou. Her personal goal had always been to control her attitude around her students, to always show a nurturing side and never the tough one she so commonly displayed before her occupation. Apparently she had failed, at least according to Ushio's question.

-It's good not to have repetitive words; at least, so sayeth my betas, and I'm inclined to agree with them. XD It does sort of draw the reader out a bit.

"It's not that I'm mad," said Kyou, mustering up a smile. "I just got stuck in my head that I didn't need a break, when I actually did." Even as she said those words, Kyou realized they were true. There really was nothing holding her back from taking a trip, she just had to accept the fact that she didn't have to always be in control of her class.

"Oh, okay." Ushio seemed to accept this answer, and instead just looked out the window, eager anticipation in her eyes.

Kyou gave a inward sigh, happy that she had so swiftly dealt with the question. Looking to Nagisa, who was sitting next to Ushio and looking out the window as well, Kyou thought on how, if she was mad, it wouldn't be for the trip.

No, it would be for the fact that Nagisa had also asked the Director if Kale could have the time off as well, she having to be the one to ask since Kale initially refused just like Kyou did. This had prompted a devilish grin in the Director, one that said that he saw something that Kyou would refuse was even there. Even though the Director hadn't said it he had given permission for the time off all too eagerly, with a eagerness that a matchmaker would display.

_Matchmaker..._ Kyou looked to her side, the occupant of the seat being Kale. Kale's head was rested back against the seat, eyes closed as he slept soundly. Just looking at Kale made Kyou's face blush. She wasn't like this usually, at least that was what Kyou told herself. It was just because of this whole trip.

Tomoya and Nagisa would never admit to it, but they were playing matchmaker; taking the two of them on this trip in hopes it would bring them closer. Kyou looked back out at the scenery, grateful that the red sunset hid her blush.

* * *

"Ah..." happily sighed Tomoya as he slipped into the warm water. "It's been far too long..." Indeed it had been quite a while since he had taken a trip to the area his grandmother on his father's side lived. He had come here to where his grandmother lived plenty of times with his father, though he had forgotten about that for a time. He had visited once or twice once Ushio was born, usually to visit the flower field Ushio loved so much, as well as visiting his grandmother and father, who lived there now too.

Yet this time the visit was different. Since Kyou and Kale were coming with them this time they decided it would be best not to sleep at his grandmother's house. Instead they stayed at a nearby inn, one that had wonderful hot springs. It was a small establishment and not that well known, but that didn't detract from the atmosphere at all; in fact, Tomoya felt that the quiet nature was much more relaxing then a big fancy inn or hotel with massive hot springs.

"Mind if I come in Okazaki-san?" came Kale's voice from just beyond the door that was the divider between the changing room and the actual hot springs. Okazaki didn't even open his eyes from their relaxed state, content in just using his voice.

"Sure, why not?" Tomoya replied indifferently. "It's a public bath after all." Tomoya heard the old weathered door creak open and the sound of bare feet slapping against the stone ground as they came toward the hot springs. Then there was slight splash-like noise as Kale entered the water, a sigh escaping from him just as it had done with Tomoya.

"Man...this is nice." said Kale, leaning back against the edge. "Glad I finally got to try one."

"Try what, a hot spring?" asked Tomoya, opening his eyes now.

"Yeah, never had a chance before now." nodded Kale. "Been busy with work or just didn't have the money."

Tomoya simply nodded understandingly to him. Those were the same reasons he hadn't been able to come for a while himself.

For the time being the conversation stopped there, the two men simply happy to relax in the hot springs. No matter whether one had tried it before or it was a new experience, the hot springs always demanded to be savored. Neither were sure of how long they remained in that silence but it did eventually stop when Kale spoke up.

"Hey, Okazaki-san," ventured Kale.

"Please, just call me Okazaki, or Tomoya," was the reply, his brows momentarily furrowing. He always hated formal titles. They just simply made his skin crawl.

"Ah, sorry," said Kale. "Okazaki, mind if I ask a question?"

"Sure, I guess." Tomoya shrugged, not even bothering to lift his head.

"When did you know you wanted to marry your wife?" Kale asked. Tomoya lifted his head, eyebrow arched in slight confusion. Prompted by this, Kale quickly elaborated. "I mean, when did you know that you loved her? How did you know that...well, that she was to one for you? Something like that..." Kale fell silent and all Tomoya did was stare for a moment.

Kale wasn't asking about this because he was interested in the Okazaki family history. That much was obvious with the way he looked embarrassed. No... it was something else. Tomoya's thoughts instantly turned back to Ryou's wedding reception and how Kale and Kyou seemed to have such fun.

Tomoya grinned ever so slightly. Well, it seemed that the matchmaking Nagisa wanted to do wasn't so meddling after all. She wasn't seeing something that was none existent.

"I don't know." said Tomoya with another shrug.

"Ah, sorry, that was too personal of a question." apologized Kale, bowing his head slightly.

"No, it's not that," said Tomoya, destroying Kale's misconception that he had asked too prying a question. "I'm just... not sure if there is a definite point."

"What do you mean?" Kale asked. "If you don't mind elaborating that is."

Tomoya was silent for a little bit as he pondered the question. He hadn't really ever thought on the matter that much in such a way. "Well, I don't think there is any one exact moment in time," he began, thinking it out as he talked, "when I felt like I knew what I wanted, what felt. It's not like some manga or fan fiction or such. This is life." He looked to the open sky.

"I really honestly can't pinpoint when I began feeling something," he continued. "At one point I realized what I was actually feeling." A simple explanation, perhaps too much so, but that simply was the man Tomoya was. Heck, speaking this much about personal stuff was actually out of the ordinary. Yet Tomoya forced himself to open up a little since he knew why Kale was seeking his advice.

"Sorry if that wasn't clear enough." sighed Tomoya.

"No, it was plenty," replied Kale, shaking his head. "I'm just...trying to figure out my heart."

_Seems pretty obvious to me,_ Tomoya thought to himself. He thought though that directly asking Kale about would be too bothersome.

Once again the hot springs were near silent, and for a good while only the trickle of water was the most noticeable noise. Once again, Kale was the one to break the silence.

"Do you think I have a chance?" That was all that was asked. No elaboration, no quickly added amending sentences, that was all.

Despite that Tomoya knew exactly what Kale meant. He was about to give his standard 'how should I know' non-committal response purely out of habit, but Tomoya choked it back down. "Yeah, yeah I think you do."

This brought a smile to Kale, though it was a bit sheepish. "Sorry if this conversation is sorta weird."

"Nah, it's no problem," lazily replied Tomoya.

"Heh, I bet they aren't having any awkward conversations like ours over there," said Kale, looking towards the thick tall wall that separated their part of the hot springs from the female side.

* * *

"Kyou, are you sure you aren't dating Saunders-san?" asked Nagisa.

Kyou's body jerked, splashing the waters of the hot spring, as she nervously stiffened to that question. "Wh-what?" she stammered. "What kind of question is that? Of course I would know if I'm dating him or not!" The reply was given strongly, Kyou hoping that the volume of her reply would crush any wild ideas Nagisa might have. The disbelieving look in Nagisa's eyes shot down Kyou's hope that the conversation would die right then and there.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Of course I'm sure." sighed Kyou exasperatedly. In her mind she cursed Nagisa. Why couldn't she be painfully meek like in high school, to the point that she wouldn't dare pursue a conversation such as this? No, of course she was more collected and experienced, now that she was married and had a child.

That very child thankfully didn't seem very interested in the conversation. She was sitting next to her mother, a content look upon her face as she soaked in the warm waters.

"Why would you even ask that?" questioned Kyou, though the moment those words left her mouth Kyou instantly regretted them. Asking a question could only prolong the conversation.

"Well, you two just seem so close." said Nagisa slowly, almost as if she was confused as to how such a obvious thing couldn't be known. "You eat lunches together, you spend a lot of your free time together. You just... are friendly with each other."

"So?" Kyou quickly replied, even more desperate to have the embarrassing conversation die right then and there. "A girl can just be friends with a guy. You did those sort of things with Tomoya in high school."

"Um..." This time Nagisa was even more confounded by Kyou's words. "Yes... I did... and we are married now."

Kyou looked at her, stunned. Then she slapped her head, groaning at her incredible stupidity. She hadn't destroyed Nagisa's argument, she had only helped it; immensely even.

Wanting to stop her mouth from saying anything else so stupid and trying to use body language as a means of escape Kyou sunk down, her hair splayed across the water now with it nearly up to her eye level.

"Can I ask another question?" asked Nagisa.

Since her head was turned enough away Kyou felt safe in rolling her eyes. There wasn't really any point in Nagisa asking if she could ask another question. She was latched onto the conversation and wasn't about to let it die anytime soon.

"Sure, of course." she said halfheartedly once she raised her head out of the water. The tone of her voice didn't seem to bother Nagisa any, since she continued on with her words.

"Why aren't you dating Saunders-san?"

"Because!" Kyou lamely retorted. "Because well... um... because we are friends." Even as the words left her mouth, Kyou knew it was an incredibly weak reason, as did Nagisa it seemed.

"Isn't being friends a step before dating?" inquired Nagisa. "To like them, to have fun with them, doesn't that make you want to date a person?"

"Not always." said Kyou, this time with more surety. "Some people like how a person looks and wants to date them because of that."

"T-true...," admitted Nagisa, her more passive side briefly showing up again. "But... those types of reasons... They don't help support a healthy relationship, do they?"

The question seemed to Kyou to be largely rhetorical since admittedly she agreed. A relationship based on looks or such never did work out well, not from what she had seen at least.

"I suppose what makes a relationship work best is if you truly like the person." said Nagisa, her gaze forward though not falling on anything in particular. "You like how they treat others,"

The instant she said that Kyou though of how Kale was incredibly kind to herself, to Botan, and all of the kids. Kyou said nothing, and Nagisa continued without pausing.

"You like how they help you," This time Kyou thought of how Kale always offered a listening ear, how he had cleaned Botan without even knowing her.

"I guess you just...like them... all of what they are..." Kyou looked away from Nagisa, her face deepening it's blush. She did admire Kale for many of his traits...Or was 'like' a better word? Did she like things about Kale? Stubbornly the active part of her mind refused to outright admit it, but a part of her mind kept nagging at her with what was quite possibly the truth.

"I'm sorry." came Nagisa's voice, cutting through Kyou's thoughts. "I- I didn't mean to make you mad."

"Mad?" Kyou looked at to Nagisa, both eyebrows raising and eyes widening slightly in a puzzled expression.

"Well...your face is all red." pointed out Nagisa. "I shouldn't have been so personal."

"It's not that," Kyou replied quickly. She didn't want to admit she was embarrassed, but she didn't want Nagisa to think that she was mad either. "It's just... it's the bath, it's making me feel a bit too hot."

"Oh, okay." said Nagisa, "Well we better get out then. Shio-chan has been in here for quite a while too. Come on Shio-chan, time to get out." Ushio lazily complied, half-asleep partly due to the travel and partly due to the warm waters. The three of them dried themselves off and each got on a simple-colored yukata.

Normally Kyou would be smiling contently, since wearing a yukata was usually her favorite part of a hot spring experience. To her it just felt just loose enough to be airy and relaxing yet tight enough that it wasn't in danger of falling off like a towel. Yet this time Kyou's face wasn't bearing a smile. It wasn't cursed with a frown either. She was instead lost in thought to the point that maintaining expected facial expressions was impossible.

Nagisa's words had struck her so deeply, so profoundly, that she couldn't help but replay them in her mind. She was friends with Kale because she admired traits he had. There was no reason why she shouldn't like him... so why couldn't she admit that to herself?

Nagisa and Ushio had already finished putting on their yukatas and left the changing room, heading towards their lodging. Kyou made her way to the door, sliding it open and stepping out into the hallway. Her head was bowed, eyes towards the ground as she continued to ponder thoughts within her mind.

She didn't get very far with her thoughts though, as she felt her head bump against something. Looking up while rubbing her head Kyou saw the center of her inner turmoil standing before her.

"Oh, sorry about that." apologized Kale, bowing slightly. Kyou gave him a quick glance and saw that Kale was dressed in a yukata, his hair still a bit wet.

"I-it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Kyou managed to say. Kale actually looked surprised by this response, having expected instead some firm or teasing remark. Yet she seemed incredibly subdued right now.

"Hey uh... you want to grab a little midnight snack or something?" Kale asked. Yet again Kyou's response wasn't the usual one. Normally she would have noted that it wasn't actually midnight yet and maybe even tease Kale for making such a mistake.

"Sure." was the reply. Again Kale looked surprised by the response but he didn't comment on it.

"I'll go grab something from the vending machine." he said, walking off shortly after. With his back now to her Kyou stared directly at him, her mind returning to her previous thoughts.

Kyou liked quite a bit about Kale. There was simply no denying that. But... if that was the case, why couldn't she bring herself to say she liked him?

* * *

a/n: Thank you for reading the chapter. Reviews that are not flames are much appreciated. The next chapter will take a little longer since I want to have the chapter immediately following it written up as well before I post it. I hope that made sense. _


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